No salary paid to Madhabi Buch after retirement: ICICI Bank on Congress’s claim
The ICICI Bank on Monday clarified that it didn’t pay any salary and ESOPs (Employee Stock Ownership Plans) to Sebi Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch after her retirement.
The clarification came hours after the Congress alleged that Buch received a total income of Rs 16.8 crore from ICICI since joining Sebi in 2017. In a statement, ICICI Bank said, “ICICI Bank or its group companies have not paid any salary or granted any ESOPs to Ms Madhabi Puri Buch after her retirement, other than her retiral benefits.”
“All the payments made to Ms Buch post her retirement had accrued to her during her employment phase with the ICICI Group. These payments comprise ESOPs and retiral benefits,” the statement read.
The ICICI Bank stated that Buch had opted for superannuation with effect from October 31, 2013. “During her employment with the ICICI Group, she received compensation in the form of salary, retiral benefits, bonus and ESOPs, in line with applicable policies,” the statement read.
Madhabi Buch, who started her career in 1989 with ICICI Bank, served as the CEO of ICICI Securities from February 2009 to May 2011. She joined the Sebi as a whole-time member from April 2017 before she assumed the role of Sebi Chairperson from March 2022.
At a press conference earlier in the day, the Congress accused Madhabi Puri Buch of conflict of interest, alleging that she was drawing regular income from ICICI Bank while being a full-time member of Sebi.
The Congress alleged that the total amount received by Buch from ICICI from her time of joining Sebi in 2017 up until today totals to Rs 16.8 crore, which is “shockingly 5.09 times the income she received from Sebi during the same period which amounts to Rs 3.3 crore”.
The Congress’s allegations come days after US-based short-seller firm Hindenburg Research claimed that Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch had a stake in some obscure offshore entities used in the alleged Adani money siphoning scandal.
The Buchs denied the allegations, saying that their investment in the fund, which Hindenburg claimed is linked to the alleged Adani stock manipulation, was made two years before Madhabi joined Sebi.