Subhash Chandra said- I believe SEBI chairperson is corrupt: Also held Madhabi Puri Buch responsible for the breakdown of Zee Entertainment and Sony merger deal

Zee founder Subhash Chandra (file photo)

ZEE founder Subhash Chandra has accused SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch of bias, corruption and unethical behavior. He said, ‘I believe SEBI Chairperson is corrupt because before taking charge at SEBI, she and her husband’s combined income was around Rs 1 crore per year, which has now increased to Rs 40-50 crore per year.

This should be investigated by the media and investigative agencies, including an analysis of the settled and compounded cases and the consultation fees paid by the companies. These are the various ways in which she and her husband extort money from companies and corrupt stock market operators and fund managers.’ Dismissing all the allegations made by Chandra, the SEBI official said, ‘These are opportunistic comments and are completely baseless.’

Madhabi Puri Buch is responsible for the breakdown of Zee Entertainment and Sony merger deal
Chandra also blamed Madhabi Puri Buch for the breakdown of the Zee Entertainment and Sony merger deal. He said – Due to SEBI’s action, the $10 billion merger between Zee and the Indian unit of Japan’s Sony got cancelled.

Chandra said that the Zee-Sony merger was progressing well and had also received approval from the stock exchange. But SEBI asked BSE/NSE to intervene in the NCLT proceedings and intimidate Sony, due to which Sony finally cancelled the merger. This caused huge losses to small shareholders.

Accused of taking crores of rupees illegally from ICICI Bank
Chandra also alleged that former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar was paying ‘huge sums’ of money to Buch and the two spoke on the phone at least 20 times every day. “It has come to light this morning that she was illegally taking crores of rupees from ICICI Bank,” Chandra said.

In 2023, SEBI had accused the promoters of one of the Essel Group companies of fraud. In an order in August 2023, SEBI barred Chandra and his son Punit Goenka from holding key positions in four group companies. In June 2023, SEBI also accused the promoters of Shirpur Gold Refinery, an Essel Group company, of fraud and fund diversion.