Wockhardt refutes allegations of paying rent to Madhabi Buch

Business Business: Wockhardt on Saturday, September 7 denied all allegations levelled by the Congress that it paid rentals to Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch through its subsidiary Carol Info Services. The company also denied any connection with orders passed by the capital markets regulator in respect of its subsidiary. ”It has come to our notice that there are certain allegations relating to rental payments by Carol Info Services Limited and the same has a connection with certain orders passed by SEBI in respect of the company. In this regard, we categorically deny these allegations and state that these allegations are completely baseless and misleading.

In a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges, Wockhardt said, “The company has operated in compliance with all applicable laws and will continue to do so.” The statement comes after the opposition Congress levelled fresh allegations of corruption and conflict of interest against the Sebi chairman, saying Buch received rental income from a firm linked to Wockhardt at a time when the market regulator had put the pharma company under investigation for insider trading. On Friday, Congress media and publicity department chief Pawan Khera said that between 2018 and 2024, as a full-time member and later chairman of capital market regulator Sebi, Buch had received rental income of Rs 2.16 crore from “Carol Info Services Ltd”, a company affiliated to Wockhardt Ltd. Documents shared by the Congress show that the Sebi orders related to Wockhardt were passed by the same adjudicating officer named Vijayant Kumar Verma. Before assuming office as chairman in March 2022, Buch served as whole-time member of SEBI between 2018 and 2021.