Sebi board to review conflict-of-interest report on Dec 17: Pandey

New Delhi: The Sebi board will take up on December 17 the report of a high-level panel, which had recommended public disclosure of assets of senior officers to avoid conflict of interest, Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Friday.

A Sebi panel in its report has proposed comprehensive reforms to bring in transparency by way of greater disclosure and a “zero-tolerance” culture to address conflict of interest of top officials of the capital market regulator.

The high-level panel submitted its report to Chairman Pandey on November 10. The report has also recommended setting up a secure and anonymous whistleblower system for reporting conflict of interest, ban on expensive gifts, a two-year restriction on post-retirement assignments, and creating a post of Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer (CECO).

The Committee on Conflict of Interest, Disclosures and Related Matters said the Sebi Chairman, whole-time members, and chief general manager-rank officers should make public disclosure of their assets and liabilities.

It further said applicants for the post of chairman and members, and for lateral entry positions, must disclose “actual, potential, and perceived conflict-of-interest risks of financial and non-financial nature” to the appointing authority.

“The board will take a final call on the recommendations made in the report,” Pandey told reporters after inaugurating the Sebi pavilion at the India International Trade Fair (IITF) here.

Sebi board is scheduled to meet on December 17.

The panel has also given an elaborate classification of conflict of interest, which could be in the nature of financial, relational, professional, duty-related, or perceived.

“Adoption of these reforms will align Sebi with international best practices, strengthen its reputation, and reinforce its independence and integrity as India’s capital market regulation,” the committee said in its 98-page report.

It has also suggested that all Sebi board members and employees should make initial, annual, event-based and exit disclosures of assets, liabilities, trading activities and family relationships as well as other professional and relational interests.

The disclosure is to be made to the proposed Sebi’s Office of Ethics and Compliance (OEC) and the Oversight Committee on Ethics and Compliance (OCEC). Also, it recommended “induction and refresher training that stresses ethical conduct and fostering a zero-tolerance culture for conflict

of interest”.