A day after the ICICI Bank said the payouts to Madhabi Puri Buch were part of her retiral benefits, the Congress released figures to make the point that her pension benefits were double than her salary and questioned why there was a break of one year just before she joined the SEBI in 2017.
On another count, the lead opposition party asked why the ICICI Bank had one ESOP policy in the US where it said it could be exercised within three months while in India, the Bank said it can be realised after ten years.
The Congress wanted to know what the Bank’s ESOP policy was in India.
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, party Spokesperson and Chairman of the Media and Publicity Department, Pawan Khera questioned the ICICI Bank’s defence that the financial benefits provided to SEBI Chairperson Buch were “retirement benefits” only.
After the Congress expose, the ICICI Bank issued a statement denying that they paid any salary to the SEBI chief post her retirement from the Bank on December 31, 2013.
Rather than answering our questions, the ICICI reply has further raised plethora of questions, Khera told reporters.
Sharing details, the Congress spokesperson pointed out, Buch retired from the ICICI Bank in 2013 and she was provided Rs 5.03 crores. He said, assuming this was her retirement dues which was settled in 2014-15, how come that the pension started again in 2016-17 when Buch became a full time member of the SEBI.
She, however, was not given any payouts by the Bank for a year in 2015-16.
“How come the ICICI Bank paid Buch pension which was more than double of her salary?,” Khera wondered. Describing it as a “miracle pension,” he pointed out that the average annual salary of Buch was ₹1.3 crore from 2007-08 to 2014, while her average annual pension amounted to ₹2.77 crore.
“SEBI should come out clean because it involves millions and millions of investors whose confidence should remain in the market regulator,” the Congress spokesperson stated while re-plugging the party demand for setting up a Joint Parliamentary Probe for thorough investigation into Buch’s stint at the market regulator.
Khera continued his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he demanded that people owe an explanation from him given that the Appointments Committee of Cabinet he heads selected Buch for the august post.
The Congress spokesperson also sought to hold the ICICI Bank accountable on the issue of providing ESOP benefit to Buch even after eight years of her resigning from the Bank.
Why special concession was given to Buch, he asked, while alleging that the ESOP benefit to the SEBI chief was paid at the cost of other employees.
Referring to the ICICI paying the TDS on ESOP for Buch, the Congress spokesperson asked why it should not be counted as her income. Was it was not the violation of the Income Tax Act, was his other poser on the issue.