English
In a press conference on Monday, Essel Group Chairman and former Rajya Sabha MP Dr Subhash Chandra alleged that Madhabi Puri Buch, the current chairperson of the Sebi, was involved in harming Zee-Sony deal. He also accused Buch of various serious wrongdoings, including corruption and misuse of power. Dr Chandra also blamed her for the collapse of the Zee-Sony deal. He said, “Today, I’m giving the name of a person who was also part of the same gang that wanted to hurt us in many ways… This person is none else than Madhabi Puri Buch.”
“Buch is the main reason behind the Zee-Sony deal falling apart,” Dr Chandra said, referring to the proposed mega-merger between two media giants.
“You may remember the few payments that I was not able to make to lenders in January 2019… I had mentioned at the time that there were a few people who were looking to cause harm to the Essel Group… She (Buch) was among them,” Dr Chandra said.
Accusing Buch of unethical behaviour, Dr Chandra said that in January 2019, Buch was among the group of people who were meant to cause harm to his business group. He referred to the incident when he had sought more time from a group of lenders to repay certain debts, Dr Chandra added that Buch ignored his requests repeatedly in a deliberate attempt to damage his business interests.
“I implored lenders to grant me some time to be able to arrange the money… Buch said to them why they were giving time to Essel Group… She even fined two mutual funds (ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund and HDFC Mutual Fund) that granted the time,” said the Essel Group Chairman.
“In September 2021, I wrote to Tyagi ji (then Sebi chairman Ajay Tyagi)… Buch targeted me at the time, pushing for a swiftly response… I didn’t know at the time that she was corrupt. I saw it only as corporate rivalry,” said Dr Chandra.
Ajay Tyagi was a Chairman of Sebi from March 2017 to February 2022.
“On February 17, 2024, a known person called me suggesting that one Manjit Singh could help me. Singh offered to solve the matter with Buch, demanding a three-digit crore rupee figure… I kept mum. I didn’t know things would pan out this way,” the media baron said.
“Perhaps Singh was right… ICICI Bank, Madhavi Puri Buch and Chanda Kochhar used to connect a lot at the time,” Dr Chandra said.
Dr Chandra said that Manjeet Singh was “working as a middleman, suggesting that he can solve the matter with Madhabi and her husband”.
For breaking news and live news updates, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Read more on Latest Business News on India.com.