New Delhi: Hours after teasing a cryptic post on X “Something big soon India,” US Based short seller Hindenburg Research has come out with new ‘whistleblower documents’. As per the Hindenburg Research documents, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch had stakes in in offshore funds linked to the Adani Group.
NEW FROM US:
Whistleblower Documents Reveal SEBI’s Chairperson Had Stake In Obscure Offshore Entities Used In Adani Money Siphoning Scandalhttps://t.co/3ULOLxxhkU
— Hindenburg Research (@HindenburgRes) August 10, 2024
The Hindenburg latest report, citing Whistleblower Documents, said that it showed “Madhabi Buch, The Current Chairperson of SEBI, And Her Husband Had Stakes In Both Obscure Offshore Funds Used In The Adani Money Siphoning Scandal.”
“It has been nearly 18 months since our original report on the Adani Group presented overwhelming evidence that the Indian conglomerate was operating “the largest con in corporate history”. Our report exposed a web of offshore, primarily Mauritius-based shell entities used for suspected billions of dollars of undisclosed related party transactions, undisclosed investment and stock manipulation,” Hindenburg report mentions, which was published on its website on Saturday.
As per the Hindenburg report, Madhabi Buch and her husband first appear to have opened their account with IPE Plus Fund 1 on June 5th, 2015 in Singapore. “We had previously noted Adani’s total confidence in continuing to operate without the risk of serious regulatory intervention, suggesting that this may be explained through Adani’s relationship with SEBI Chairperson, Madhabi Buch.
What we hadn’t realized: the current SEBI Chairperson and her husband, Dhaval Buch, had hidden stakes in the exact same obscure offshore Bermuda and Mauritius funds, found in the same complex nested structure, used by Vinod Adani,” added the report. A declaration of funds, signed by a principal at IIFL reportedly states that the source of the investment is “salary” and the couple´s net worth is estimated at $10 million, said the report.
Meanwhile, the SEBI Chief has denied the allegations. “The same are devoid of any truth. Our life and finances are an open book. All disclosures as required have already been furnished to SEBI over the years,” stated SEBI Chief and her husband Dhaval Buch, as reported by PTI.