Subhash Chandra, chairman emeritus of Indian media giant Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), has accused Madhabi Puri Buch, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board (SEBI), of blocking the merger between Sony and ZEEL.

At a press conference on Monday, Chandra alleged that Buch is “corrupt” and “vindictive” and that Zee’s problems with SEBI were the “main reason” the merger failed.

In June 2023, SEBI banned ZEEL MD-CEO Punit Goenka and Chandra from holding any management or directorship positions in listed companies. The suspension came amid SEBI's investigation into allegations of insider trading. SEBI's notice had made multiple references to "siphoning off" of funds. India's Securities and Appellate Tribunal (SAT) had set aside the SEBI order in November. "They have set aside everything. If you read the order, they are stopped from saying that there is total bias against this group," Chandra had said on Monday.

The merger was called off in January this year. In February, a Bloomberg report claimed that SEBI had found a discrepancy of around $241 million in ZEEL's accounts and the company's founders were summoned for questioning. "Reports and rumours regarding accounting issues in the company are incorrect and false," ZEEL had said at the time.