Mumbai, Nov. 13 -- The stock market regulator is considering its most comprehensive internal reforms in years, with a top committee proposing sweeping changes to conflict-of-interest and disclosure norms across the organization. The proposals, which include public asset disclosures by top officials and formation of ethics committees, aim to strengthen transparency at the appointment stage itself, and ensure that individuals with personal, professional, or financial entanglements are identified early. Candidates for the roles of Sebi chairman, whole-time member (WTM), and other lateral entrants must disclose all actual, potential and perceived conflicts of interest, both financial and non-financial, to the appointing authority in advance, the committee set up by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in March proposed. The committee's report comes over a year after American short-seller Hindenburg Research accused its chairperson of a conflict of interest, a charge she denied as "baseless" and "devoid of any truth". Once in office, top Sebi officials must publicly disclose their assets and liabilities, a first for the top brass. The panel recommended that the chairman, WTMs and employees ranked chief general manager and above file such declarations annually. Part-time members, who are not involved in day-to-day regulation, may be exempted from public disclosures, but they too must report relevant interests internally. Currently, Sebi board members only need to disclose conflicts to the regulator's board. "These (recommendations) are essential to sustain public trust in an institution that guards market integrity," said Sumit Agrawal, senior partner, Regstreet Law Advisors, and a former Sebi officer. In August 2024, short-seller Hindenburg Research had alleged, among other things, that Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband held undisclosed stakes in entities based in Bermuda and Mauritius with purported links to the Adani Group. Sebi was probing allegations of fraud against the conglomerate at the time. Adani Group denied the accusations, as did Buch and her husband. Under the proposed system, all Sebi board members and employees, including those on secondment and contractual appointments, will be required to make initial, annual, event-based and exit disclosures of their assets, liabilities, trading activities, family relationships, and professional or relational interests. These will be submitted to a new office of ethics and compliance (OEC) and overseen by an independent oversight committee on ethics and compliance (OCEC). The OEC, headed by a chief ethics and compliance officer at the executive director rank, will manage disclosures, while the OCEC will provide independent oversight....