MUMBAI: The Mahindra Group has clarified that the Congress Party’s allegations of conflicts of interest in engaging the services of Dhaval Buch, the husband of the Sebi chief Madhabi Puri Buch who herself is under a volley of allegations, and that the payments made to him are for his expertise in supply chain management.
In an exchange filing on Tuesday, the Anand Mahindra-led group claimed that the allegations made by the Congress regarding conflicts of interest and the resultant benefits it gained from Dhaval employment as false and misleading.
“The compensation made to Dhaval Buch was for his expertise in supply chain and management acumen, based on his global experience at Unilever” the filing claimed.
"We categorically state that we have not, at any point, requested Sebi for any preferential treatment," the statement added, terming the allegations “false and misleading in nature”, without naming any political party.
Earlier in the day, the Congress had made fresh allegations, claiming that Madhabi and Dhaval continued to earn from the advisory firms launched by her when she was not with the Sebi.
Congress leader Pawan Khera said Agora Advisory, a company held by the Buchs which is claimed as a dormant entity, had received funds from the Mahindra group between 2019 and 2021-- a period when Madhabi was a whole-time Sebi member.
The party further said during this period, there were favourable Sebi orders on M&M.
"During this period, Sebi had also issued several orders in favour of the Mahindra group," Khera said.
To this, the company said, "none of the five Sebi orders or approvals referenced in the allegations are relevant."
Of the said five orders, three did not pertain to the company or any of its subsidiaries. One of the approvals was for a fast-track rights issue, which did not require any approval from Sebi, and another one pertained to an order issued in 2018 before Dhaval started working with the group, the company said.
The group said Dhaval was hired in 2019 for his expertise in supply chain and sourcing after he retired as the global chief procurement officer at Unilever. Most of his stint at the Mahindras was at Bristlecone, a supply chain consulting subsidiary, where Dhaval is currently on the board.
Dhaval had joined the Mahindras almost three years before Madhabi was appointed as the Sebi chairperson, the statement said.
