Congress questions ‘retiral benefit’ from ICICI to SEBI chief Madhabi Buch
Pawan Khera had levelled allegations that Buch was holding an office of profit at ICICI Bank and continued to receive income till the very day
By Kaniza Garari Published on 3 Sep 2024 9:43 AM GMT
Congress Spokesperson Pawan Khera (Right) and Vineet Punia
New Delhi: The Indian National Congress received a response from ICICI Bank on the amount paid to SEBI chairperson Madhabi P Buch as a ‘retiral benefit’ leading to a quantum of queries on the discrepancy of the amount and the policy under which it is being paid.
According to the response given by ICICI Bank, released by the Congress party, ICICI Prudential in 2023-24 has paid Rs 2,17,908 as the annual salary to Madhabi Buch.
The SEBI chairperson's annual salary in 2023-24 is recorded as Rs 55,25,616.
Pawan Khera, chairman of the communication department of the All India Congress Committee pointed out that the response from ICICI Bank has now led to a string of questions as the policy and amount paid differs.
Questions put forth by Khera
- Retiral benefit resumed in 2016-17 and continued till 2021. The amount paid by ICICI Bank in 2014-2015 was Rs 5.03 crores as part of retirement benefit.
- ICICI Bank paid Madhabi P Buch an average salary of Rs 130 lakhs per annum from 2007 till 2013-2014.
- The retiral benefit from 2016-17 to 2020-21 averages Rs 277 lakhs per annum.
Pawan Khera said, “What is this retiral benefit? What is the ESOP policy that ICICI Bank in its response is talking about? The ESOP policy in the public domain on their website states that former employees can exercise their ESOPs within a maximum of three months following their voluntary termination. What is this revised policy for Buch? Why did ICICI not offer this TDS amount as taxable income of Buch? Is this not a clear non-compliance of the Income Tax Act?”
The response received by ICICI Bank has led to more questions about the role of the bank and its link with Buch.
On Monday, Pawan Khera had levelled allegations that Buch was holding an office of profit at ICICI Bank and continued to receive income till the very day. The Congress party claimed that the response of ICICI Bank shows that these benefits continue to date.
