Mahindra & Mahindra: The country’s leading automobile company Mahindra & Mahindra has denied the allegations that the company has made a payment to Dhawal Buch, husband of SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, to get preferential treatment from the stock market regulator SEBI. The company said in a regulatory filing, we have never asked SEBI for preferential treatment and UC follows high standards of corporate governance. The company has termed the allegations against it as false and misleading.
Earlier, the country’s main opposition party Congress had alleged that Madhabi Puri Buch’s husband had received Rs 4.78 crore from Mahindra & Mahindra between 2019 and 2021. This is the period when SEBI had issued four orders against Mahindra & Mahindra. In a regulatory filing with the stock exchanges, the company has responded to these allegations of Congress.
The company said that Mahindra Group hired Dhawal Buch in 2019 after his retirement from the post of Global Chief Procurement Officer of Unilever for his expertise in supply chain and sourcing. The company said that he spent most of his time in supply chain consulting company Bristlecone. Dhawal Buch is still on the board of Bristlecone. According to Mahindra & Mahindra, Dhawal Buch joined Mahindra Group three years before Madhabi Puri Buch became SEBI chairperson. According to the company, the compensation given to him has been given keeping in mind his global experiences while working in Unilever, his being an expert in supply chain and his management capability.
Mahindra & Mahindra said that the allegations made regarding SEBI’s order do not matter because three out of the five orders received from SEBI are not related to the company or its subsidiaries. One is related to the rights issue for which SEBI’s approval is not required. One order came in March 2018, which is before Dhawal Buch joined Mahindra Group.
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