MUMBAI: Upending markets regulator Sebi’s stance that all HR-related issues have been resolved amicably, a group of its employees demonstrated within its headquarters at Bandra Kurla Complex in the first half of Thursday. They demanded withdrawal of Sebi’s release of the previous evening and resignation of its chief, Madhabi Puri Buch, sources said.
More than 100 Sebi officials were present at the silent demonstration that lasted more than an hour, they said.
In its press release on Wednesday Sebi had blamed “external elements” for instigating employees to agitate against the regulator’s management and leadership. Sebi didn’t comment about the unprecedented protest by its employees within its campus.
The statement came after a letter from Sebi employees to the finance ministry, signed by around 500 officers, had complained about the “toxic work culture”.
Protests add to long list of woes for Sebi chief
Shouting, scolding and public humiliation have become the norm” at Sebi, and this, they said, was at the core of their grievances.
Earlier, a demonstration was scheduled, mainly to press for the employees’ demand for a better work environment and withdrawal of unrealistic KRAs. On Wednesday, the demonstration was postponed after the management assured to address their grievances. However, the protests happened after Sebi through a press release on Wednesday evening said that external elements were instigating junior officers to voice their grievances to the govt and go to the press.
Thursday’s protests added to the already long list of allegations that the Sebi chief is currently dealing with. It started on August 11 when US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research accused her and her husband Dhaval Buch of conflict of interest in investigations against the Adani Group. A few days later, Hindenburg also published documents showing that she had earned advisory fees while at Sebi, first as a whole time member since mid-2017 and then as its chief from early 2022. Buch had denied all the allegations with Sebi too issuing a statement backing its chief.
Earlier this week, main opposition party Congress alleged that Buch was receiving salary and income from ICICI Bank and its arm, her former employers, even while she was at Sebi. The bank later clarified that those funds, running into several crores, were part of her post-retirement benefits as well as ESOPs that had accrued to her during her employment with the lender. The Congress further questioned how one’s retiral benefits could be higher than one’s salary.
Besides, Subhash Chandra of the Zee group called her ‘corrupt’ and said as Sebi chief she had a role for the failure of the proposed merger between global media giant Sony and Zee group. Unofficially, Sebi officials had called Chandra’s accusations ‘malicious’ when the regulator was investigating embezzlements of large sums of money by the Zee group, including Chandra.
More than 100 Sebi officials were present at the silent demonstration that lasted more than an hour, they said.
In its press release on Wednesday Sebi had blamed “external elements” for instigating employees to agitate against the regulator’s management and leadership. Sebi didn’t comment about the unprecedented protest by its employees within its campus.
The statement came after a letter from Sebi employees to the finance ministry, signed by around 500 officers, had complained about the “toxic work culture”.
Protests add to long list of woes for Sebi chief
Shouting, scolding and public humiliation have become the norm” at Sebi, and this, they said, was at the core of their grievances.
Earlier, a demonstration was scheduled, mainly to press for the employees’ demand for a better work environment and withdrawal of unrealistic KRAs. On Wednesday, the demonstration was postponed after the management assured to address their grievances. However, the protests happened after Sebi through a press release on Wednesday evening said that external elements were instigating junior officers to voice their grievances to the govt and go to the press.
Thursday’s protests added to the already long list of allegations that the Sebi chief is currently dealing with. It started on August 11 when US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research accused her and her husband Dhaval Buch of conflict of interest in investigations against the Adani Group. A few days later, Hindenburg also published documents showing that she had earned advisory fees while at Sebi, first as a whole time member since mid-2017 and then as its chief from early 2022. Buch had denied all the allegations with Sebi too issuing a statement backing its chief.
Earlier this week, main opposition party Congress alleged that Buch was receiving salary and income from ICICI Bank and its arm, her former employers, even while she was at Sebi. The bank later clarified that those funds, running into several crores, were part of her post-retirement benefits as well as ESOPs that had accrued to her during her employment with the lender. The Congress further questioned how one’s retiral benefits could be higher than one’s salary.
Besides, Subhash Chandra of the Zee group called her ‘corrupt’ and said as Sebi chief she had a role for the failure of the proposed merger between global media giant Sony and Zee group. Unofficially, Sebi officials had called Chandra’s accusations ‘malicious’ when the regulator was investigating embezzlements of large sums of money by the Zee group, including Chandra.
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