New Delhi, Sep 13 (Reporter) Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch on Friday dismissed all the allegations of 'conflict of interest' against her as 'false' and 'malicious' while reiterating that she had adhered to all disclosure and recusal guidelines set by the market regulator. The Sebi chief and her husband Dhaval Buch in a statement made in their personal capacity said that over the past many days a malicious campaign had been run against them. "It is unfortunate that questions have been raised regarding the consulting assignments of Dhaval Buch and the firms Agora Advisory in India and Agora Partners in Singapore. There seems to be an assumption that when a spouse of a senior government official is appointed as an advisor, it must be attributed to factors beyond professional merit. Such assumptions overlook the strength of qualifications and expertise and reach conclusions that are most unfortunate," the statement said. Ever since American short-seller Hindenburg Research alleged 'conflicts of interest' in investigations concerning the Adani group against Buch, the opposition parties, especially Congress, have demanded her resignation from the top post. Responding to the charges of impropriety involving some corporate houses which availed consultancy services from the advisory firm Agora led by her husband, the Sebi chief said that despite the transparency and professional clarity given by these organizations, it is unfortunate that the need to justify decisions taken by such respected companies, based purely on Dhaval’s expertise, has to be undertaken by them and by us. "The most recent allegations allege that Agora Advisory had provided services to two more companies - Sembcorp and Visu Leasing - while Madhabi was a Whole Time Member (WTM) of SEBI. This too is patently false. These assignments were concluded and income accrued in 2016-2017, before Madhabi even joined SEBI as Whole Time Member," the statement said. "Further, it has been claimed that ICICI Bank also paid Agora. What was concealed, is the fact that these were interest payments on deposits. Ascribing motive to it is unfortunate and defamatory," it added. The statement stated that in keeping with the highest standards of governance, Madhabi never dealt with any file involving Agora Advisory, Agora Partners, the Mahindra Group, Pidilite, Dr Reddy’s, Alvarez and Marsal, Sembcorp, Visu Leasing or ICICI Bank at any stage after her joining SEBI. It further said, "Madhabi has complied with all the disclosure and recusal guidelines of SEBI, and in fact, maintained a proactive continuing recusal list with SEBI over and above the requirements under the guidelines." Over the questions regarding the rental income received from a property owned by Madhabi and Dhaval, the statement said that the property was leased out in the normal course. "As it turned out subsequently, the lessee happened to be an associate of Wockhardt, a listed company which had come under investigation. Madhabi has not dealt with any files related to Wockhardt," the statement said. With regard to the allegations of moonlighting while employed with ICICI Bank, the statement said that Madhabi did not engage in any unauthorized external employment while working at ICICI Bank. The Sebi chief said that her income tax returns had been obtained fraudulently and the facts in it had been twisted deliberately to create a false narrative. "Though everyone can see a clear pattern emerging to distort and twist the facts, we are confident that we will be able to demolish all such motivated allegations even in future, while reserving our right to take appropriate legal remedy as we may be advised," She said in the statement...////...