Hindenburg’s allegation against SEBI chief, Market regulator SEBI chief Madhavi Puri Buch has rejected the allegations made by American company Hindenburg Research. On Saturday, Hindenburg had accused Madhabi and her husband Dhaval Butch of having stake in an offshore company linked to Adani Group.
The SEBI chairperson has termed the allegations as “baseless” and an attempt at “character assassination”. SEBI Chairperson expressed willingness to declare all financial records. In a joint statement with her husband Dhaval Butch, she said, ‘Our life and finances is an open book.’
Last year, Hindenburg Research came into limelight by accusing Adani Group of financial irregularities. Based on whistleblower documents, Hindenburg has claimed that Butch and her husband have stakes in Mauritius offshore company ‘Global Dynamic Opportunity Fund’.
Hindenburg has alleged that Vinod Adani, brother of Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, has allegedly invested billions of dollars in the ‘Global Dynamic Opportunities Fund’. This money was used to boost the share prices of Adani Group.
Hindenberg’s claim: SEBI chairperson and her husband have stake in offshore funds
Whistleblower documents reveal that current SEBI chairperson Madhabi Buch and her husband had stakes in both the offshore funds (Bermuda and Mauritius) used by Vinod Adani in the Adani money siphoning scam.
It seems that Madhabi Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch first opened their account with IPE Plus Fund 1 in Singapore on June 5, 2015. The source of the investment is “salary” and the couple’s net worth is estimated at $10 million.
Madhabi Buch was appointed as a “Wholetime Member” of SEBI in April 2017. A few weeks before this appointment, Madhabi’s husband, Dhaval Booch, had written an email to Mauritius fund administrator Trident Trust Global Dynamic Opportunities Fund regarding an investment.
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#WATCH | On Hindenburg report, Rajya Sabha MP & Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani says, “… SEBI must probe this much more deeply than they are doing. Retail investors have lost a lot of money. This is a consorted attempt, to rock the stock market, undermine our budget, and… pic.twitter.com/UdzbteoJj4
— ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2024
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In the email, Dhaval Butch requested to “be the only person authorized to operate the accounts.” Hindenburg said – It seems that the property has been removed from his wife’s name before the politically sensitive appointment.
In a subsequent account statement addressed to Madhabi Buch’s personal email dated February 26, 2018, full details of the structure are revealed: GDOF Cell 90 (IPEplus Fund 1). At that time the value of Butch’s stake was $8.72 lakh.
Hindenburg said – It seems that the property has been removed from his wife’s name before the politically sensitive appointment.
In a subsequent account statement addressed to Madhabi Buch’s personal email dated February 26, 2018, full details of the structure are revealed: GDOF Cell 90 (IPEplus Fund 1). At that time the value of Butch’s stake was $8.72 lakh.
Allegations like money laundering, share manipulation were made against Adani Group
On January 24, 2023, Hindenburg Research published a report regarding Adani Group. After the report, there was a huge fall in the shares of the group. However, there was recovery later. Regarding this report, Indian stock market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had also sent a 46-page show cause notice to Hindenburg.
In a blog post published on July 1, 2024, Hindenburg Research said that the notice states that it has violated the rules. SEBI has alleged that Hindenburg’s report contains certain false statements intended to mislead readers, the company said. Responding to this, Hindenburg had made many allegations against SEBI itself.