Kathmandu. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is set to form a committee to review the provisions for self-declaration of conflict of interest by its members. The decision to set up the advisory committee comes months after the former head of India’s capital markets regulator was accused of stalling an investigation into the Adani Group due to conflict of interest.
The first meeting of SEBI, headed by new chairman Tuhin Kant Pandey, on Monday decided to set up a high-level committee to comprehensively review the conflict of interest and disclosure norms related to assets, investments and liabilities of board members and officers, the online edition of the Economic Times reported.
The advisory committee will comprise eminent persons and experts with relevant background and experience in constitutional or statutory or regulatory bodies, government, public sector, private sector and academia .
According to the Asian Insurance Post, former SEBI chief Madhavi Puri Buch, who stepped down at the end of February, was the target of an attack last year by the now-defunct Hindenburg Research. Hindenburg Research had alleged that she and her husband had “illegal” assets in entities in Bermuda and Mauritius, which were found to be used by the elder brother of Adani Group founder Gautam Adani. This was the reason why SEBI was prevented from investigating the fraud allegations against the powerful business group.
Both Buch and the Adani Group had denied all the allegations. Butch and her husband had said they “strongly reject the baseless allegations and insinuations made in the report”.
Pandey, who revived the practice of holding press conferences after board decisions, said the last time conflict of interest disclosure norms were introduced was in 2008. He said a review of these norms was necessary to maintain the credibility of Sebi.
