Sebi chief, husband reject Hindenburg allegations: ‘Our life and finances are an open book’
NEW DELHI: Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch have refuted the allegations made against them by Hindenburg Research, a US-based short-seller, in its recent report.
The statement was released shortly after Hindenburg Research claimed that the couple had stakes in “both the obscure offshore entities used in the Adani money siphoning scandal.”
In a joint statement, Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband strongly denied the allegations, stating, “In the context of allegations made in the Hindenburg Report dated August 10, 2024, against us, we would like to state that we strongly deny the baseless allegations and insinuations made in the report.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. We have no hesitation in disclosing any and all financial documents, including those that relate to the period when we were strictly private citizens, to any and every authority that may seek them. Further, in the interest of complete transparency, we would be issuing a detailed statement in due course.”The couple also expressed their disappointment and accused Hindenburg of resorting to character assassination in response to the regulatory measures. They emphasized that their life and finances are transparent and that they have consistently provided all necessary disclosures to SEBI over the years.
“It is unfortunate that Hindenburg Research against whom SEBI has taken an Enforcement action and issued a show cause notice has chosen to attempt character assassination in response to the same,” the statement read.
Hindenburg Research’s latest allegations, based on documents provided by a whistleblower and investigations conducted by other entities, claim that Madhabi Buch and Dhaval Buch had hidden stakes in the same offshore Bermuda and Mauritius funds, which were part of a complex nested structure used by Vinod Adani. The report also mentioned that the couple had opened an account with IPE Plus Fund 1 in Singapore on June 5, 2015, with a declared net worth of $10 million.
The statement was released shortly after Hindenburg Research claimed that the couple had stakes in “both the obscure offshore entities used in the Adani money siphoning scandal.”
In a joint statement, Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband strongly denied the allegations, stating, “In the context of allegations made in the Hindenburg Report dated August 10, 2024, against us, we would like to state that we strongly deny the baseless allegations and insinuations made in the report.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. We have no hesitation in disclosing any and all financial documents, including those that relate to the period when we were strictly private citizens, to any and every authority that may seek them. Further, in the interest of complete transparency, we would be issuing a detailed statement in due course.”The couple also expressed their disappointment and accused Hindenburg of resorting to character assassination in response to the regulatory measures. They emphasized that their life and finances are transparent and that they have consistently provided all necessary disclosures to SEBI over the years.
“It is unfortunate that Hindenburg Research against whom SEBI has taken an Enforcement action and issued a show cause notice has chosen to attempt character assassination in response to the same,” the statement read.
Hindenburg Research’s latest allegations, based on documents provided by a whistleblower and investigations conducted by other entities, claim that Madhabi Buch and Dhaval Buch had hidden stakes in the same offshore Bermuda and Mauritius funds, which were part of a complex nested structure used by Vinod Adani. The report also mentioned that the couple had opened an account with IPE Plus Fund 1 in Singapore on June 5, 2015, with a declared net worth of $10 million.
In January 2023, Hindenburg published a report accusing the Adani Group of financial irregularities, leading to a significant drop in the company’s stock price. The group had rubbished these claims at the time. The Hindenburg report alleged stock manipulation and fraud by the conglomerate, resulting in a sharp fall in the shares of various Adani group companies’ stocks, reportedly amounting to over $100 billion.
