Sebi's high level committee on conflict of interest, disclosures submits report

New Delhi, Nov 10 (PTI) A high-level committee chaired by former Chief Vigilance Commissioner Pratyush Sinha has submitted its report on "conflict of Interest" and disclosures concerning Sebi officials to the market regulator on Monday.

The report was presented to Sebi Chairperson Tuhin Kanta Pandey, the regulator said in its statement.

The Sebi board, in its meeting held on March 24, 2025, had decided to constitute the committee to undertake a comprehensive review of the existing provisions related to conflict of interest and disclosures of property, investments, liabilities, and other related matters by Sebi members and officials.

The move came in the wake of allegations against former Sebi Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, who was accused of holding back on investigations against the Adani group because of a conflict of interest.

The committee's mandate included reviewing current policies and frameworks governing conflict of interest and identifying any gaps or ambiguities, and suggesting a mechanism for members of the public to raise concerns pertaining to conflict of interest and disclosures, including a process to examine complaints.

Also, the committee was entrusted with the task of recommending a robust framework for preventing, mitigating and managing conflict of interest, including a recusal policy, disclosure requirements covering public disclosures, provisions pertaining to restriction on investments, maintenance of digital records and a framework for monitoring.

The high-level committee comprised Pratyush Sinha as Chairman, Injeti Srinivas as Vice Chairman, Uday Kotak, G Mahalingam, Sarit Jafa, and R Narayanaswamy as members.

Pandey's predecessor Buch, who demitted office at the end of February, had come under attack last year from now-shuttered Hindenburg Research which alleged that she and her husband held "hidden" holdings in Bermuda and Mauritius entities also drawn upon by the older brother of Adani group founder Gautam Adani, which possibly held the agency back from investigating fraud charges against the powerful conglomerate.

Both Buch and the Adani group had denied all allegations.

Buch and her husband had stated that they "strongly deny the baseless allegations and insinuations made in the report".

Later in September, Sebi cleared Gautam Adani and his group of stock manipulation allegations made by Hindenburg, saying it found no evidence that the conglomerate used related parties to route funds into its listed companies. PTI SP BAL BAL