Zee founder Subhash Chandra accuses SEBI chairperson of corruption, bias

Mumbai, Sept 3 (PTI) Zee group patriarch Subhash Chandra on Monday levelled several allegations against SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and said he will stop cooperating with the capital markets regulator.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) did not offer any comment immediately. However, a source familiar with the matter said that the allegations are malicious.

"All these allegations made by Mr Chandra are malicious. The facts would suggest otherwise," the source told PTI.

Chandra, now Chairman Emeritus of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), said he is exploring legal action against Buch as he is convinced that the "SEBI Chairperson is corrupt" and has asked other corporate houses to join his fight.

He also alleged that Buch is "biased" against him and he has taken a decision "not to cooperate with SEBI any further".

He also urged ZEEL to “stop cooperating with SEBI any further; since it is a biased investigation being carried out; with a pre-conceived mindset of SEBI Chairperson.” "ICICI Bank and my investigation tells me that Madhabi Puri Buch and Chanda Kochhar at that time, were constantly on phone calls," he said, adding: "She was the very close person, and Chanda Kochhar was the one who was giving the money to her, which has been revealed today this morning, for crores of rupees, she was taking illegally from ICICI," Chandra told reporters here.

While responding to a question, Chandra said his issue with the Sebi Chairperson also impacted the Zee-Sony merger.

"Yes, this was the main reason for the merger to set apart, and that is why I am questioning today that SEBI is supposed to protect the interest of minority shareholders, and she succeeded in pushing away Sony from getting merged with Zee," he alleged.

Chandra also claimed that he wrote to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman regarding the matter but has not received a response.

This controversy arose after SEBI last year alleged siphoning of funds as the father-son duo used fixed deposits (FDs) of Rs 200 crore of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) to repay loans of certain entities.

Chandra and his son Goenka were barred from holding the position of director or key management personnel in any listed firm until further orders by Sebi.

Both Chandra and Punit Goenka challenged the Sebi directive before the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), which stayed the order. PTI