Govt probing Abraham's complaint

Former Sebi whole-time member had alleged irregularities in finance ministry's dealings with Sebi in 2011

The complaints made by the former Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)'s whole-time member K M Abraham alleging irregularities in the finance ministry's dealings with the regulator are under investigation by the government. This is revealed in the government's reply to questions posed to it under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The ministry declined to give information about Abraham's letters under the RTI Act, citing that it was a matter of an "ongoing investigation". In an RTI response dated September 22, 2014, the finance ministry said the fresh complaint (filed in 2014) by the bureaucrat, who is now the finance secretary of Kerala, could not be shared because "there is an ongoing investigation in the matter".

In a separate RTI response dated December 24, 2014, the Department of Economic Affairs of the finance ministry declined to give the details of the 2011 letter, saying: "The information sought by you could not be furnished as there is an ongoing investigation on the matter, and thus, exempted from disclosure under Section 8 (1) (h)." The ministry's response came after the Cabinet secretariat forwarded an RTI application addressed to it.

In a response dated December 3, the Cabinet Secretariat said, "A complaint letter dated 16.05.2011 from Mr K M Abraham on the above-mentioned issue was received in Cabinet Secretariat on 19.05.2011 and it was forwarded in original to the Secretary, Ministry of Finance for appropriate action. No copy of the above complaint has been retained in this Secretariat. A copy of the relevant file noting after severance of the portions of information, which do not pertain to the above complaint u/s of the RTI Act, 2005 is enclosed. Your application is, also being forwarded to CPIO (central public information officers), Ministry of Finance, North Block, New Delhi u/s 6(3) of the RTI Act 2005 for further necessary action."

The file noting shared by the Cabinet Secretariat said this 2011 complaint was against Omita Paul, the then advisor to finance minister; Bimal Julka, additional secretary; and Thomas Mathew, joint secretary.

The former Sebi member, in his 2011 letter, alleged interference in cases involving the Sahara Group, Reliance (both Mukesh and Anil Ambani Groups), Bank of Rajasthan and the MCX Stock Exchange. Three years on, while final orders were passed by the Sebi in some cases such as Bank of Rajasthan and Sahara, others such as Reliance Industries' illegal gains case have continued to drag on. The MCX-SX matter became a subject of Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) preliminary enquiry (PE) in March 2014 following the break-out of National Spot Exchange payment crisis.

Weeks before the end of his three-year term, Abraham had written to the Cabinet Secretary and Prime Minister's Office in May 2011. The contents of these letters were reported in the media. In August 2011, the finance ministry had issued a statement dismissing the complaint questioning Abraham's intentions and "mental balance". The matter had not progressed further.

However, the institution of CBI enquiry against Abraham and former Sebi chairman C B Bhave in May last year seem to have triggered a fresh set of events reviving the complaint. Abraham's response to the CBI citing irregularities in the PE was reported in the media. Following the PE, the CBI recommended departmental enquiry against Bhave and Abraham, but registered a first information report against some junior Sebi officials. When contacted, Abraham declined to comment.