MUMBAI: Zee founder Subhash Chandra accused Sebi chief Madhabi Puri Buch of corrupt practices when his media and other companies came under regulatory scanner, a charge that was rebutted by sources in the regulatory body. Chandra said on Feb 17, he was approached by one Manjit Singh who promised that all his issues with Sebi will be settled and claimed that he was willing to substantiate the allegations.
While Sebi didn’t respond to Chandra’s charges, sources said the allegations are malicious in nature. The last order against Zee was from the chairperson only where the initial amount of funds that was found to have been diverted was Rs 200 crore. “The final figure could be much higher,” a source said.
Last year, Sebi had accused Zee of diverting funds through related party transactions. Chandra had contested the claims before Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT). Sebi then told SAT that it is conducting a wider probe on the matter and will pass a final order to that effect.
While alleging irregularities and raising questions over Puri Buch’s income, Chandra sought a probe into cases that were settled or compounded by Sebi. He said he will move court to seek her removal from the chair.
He blamed Puri Buch for collapse of his company’s proposed merger with Sony Pictures Networks India. The Zee-Sony deal had hit a regulatory roadblock following Sebi’s probe. The regulator had banned Chandra’s son Punit Goenka from holding any position in any listed company. Although the ban was overturned, the Japanese company wanted its person to helm the merged entity instead of Punit.
Chandra said during the proceedings in the Bombay HC he got access to a Sebi email which the investigating officer had written to his team within a few hours of receiving a detailed response from Zee. The media mogul said he will not cooperate with Sebi in the ongoing probe.