The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has adequate internal mechanisms to deal with issues related to conflict of interest, including a disclosure framework and recusal provisions, Finance Minister Pankaj Chaudhary said on Monday.

The minister was replying to a question in the Lok Sabha on the allegations against SEBI Chairman Madhabi Puri Buch, conflict of interest and action taken by the government.

“The SEBI Board has adopted a Conflict of Interest Code for its Board members, including the Chairman, to ensure that the Board acts in a manner that does not jeopardize its ability to discharge its duties or undermine public confidence. The ability of members to discharge their responsibilities,” said Chaudhary.

The Public Accounts Committee considered the SEBI chairman's request for exemption from personal appearance due to a sudden and unavoidable personal exigency and canceled the meeting, the MoS also clarified.

The SEBI chairman has faced a storm over her and her husband's investments in offshore funds linked to the Adani Group. SEBI, Buch and the Adani Group have refuted these allegations.

Unclaimed LIC Funds:

Meanwhile, in response to another question, the MoS said the total unclaimed and overdue claims with the Life Insurance Corporation of India have almost doubled in the last five years to Rs 880.93 crore in FY24 from Rs 480.78 crore in FY20.

Chaudhary was responding to a question in the Lok Sabha on unclaimed funds by LIC.

The total number of such claims has also steadily increased to 3,72,282 in FY24 from 2,43,790 in 2020, according to the data provided by it.

However, the number of unclaimed death claims with LIC has declined over the past five years. In FY24, LIC had 10 unclaimed death claims of Rs 14 lakh as against 89 claims of Rs 2.02 crore in FY20.

Over the years, LIC has taken various measures to reduce unclaimed and unpaid claims.