The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) employees have voiced concerns about the public disclosure of assets and liabilities, a proposal made by a high-level committee in November to improve transparency at the Indian market regulator.
“I think there are some privacy issues relating to financial assets. They have no concerns about giving it internally to an independent office or whatever we establish within Sebi for this purpose. But putting it out as a matter of thing to the public domain, they have issues,” said Sebi chief Tuhin Kanta Pandey during in Mumbai on Friday.
The market regulator had set up a high-level committee to make suggestions on improving among Sebi officers, in the wake of conflict-of-interest allegations involving former Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch.
In August 2024, US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research claimed that Buch and her husband held undisclosed stakes in Bermuda- and Mauritius-based entities allegedly connected with the Adani Group, even as Sebi was investigating the conglomerate for potential fraud. The Adani Group and the Buchs rejected the allegations.
Sebi committee
The committee has proposed the most extensive internal clean-up in conflict-of-interest and disclosure rules in years across Sebi’s ranks.
Under the recommendations, senior officials would, for the first time, be required to publicly disclose their assets and liabilities upon assuming office. The chairman, whole-time members, and officers at the chief general manager level and above would need to file these declarations annually. Part-time members, who do not engage in daily regulatory work, may be exempt from public disclosures but would still be required to report relevant interests internally. At present, only Sebi board members are required to disclose conflicts to the board.
All Sebi board members and employees, including those on secondment or hired on contract, have also been recommended to file initial, annual, event-based and exit disclosures covering their assets, liabilities, securities transactions, family ties, and any professional or personal interests that may create a conflict.
These disclosures would be routed to a newly proposed Office of Ethics and Compliance (OEC), which will be led by a chief ethics and compliance officer at the executive-director level, and monitored by an independent Oversight Committee on Ethics and Compliance (OCEC).
The framework also aims for more detailed reporting of personal relationships. Employees and board members may be required to internally disclose the names and connections of relatives as defined under the Companies Act, along with any other relationships that could give rise to potential conflicts. The definition of “family” has been broadened to include spouses, dependent children, including adopted and stepchildren, legal wards and any individual substantially dependent on the employee.
“The question is whether it would be necessary, particularly when it is not largely required in the system elsewhere in the country,” said Pandey. “It depends on how the (Sebi) board will take a view”.