Hindenburg Research, which has previously raised serious allegations against the Adani Group, issued a new blog post on Saturday targeting Sebi chairperson Buch.The post accused her and her husband of holding undisclosed stakes in offshore funds allegedly used in the Adani money laundering scheme.
The research firm also criticised Sebi for its alleged lack of enthusiasm in pursuing investigations into Adani’s purported web of shell companies based in Mauritius and other offshore locations. “Sebi has shown a surprising lack of interest in Adani’s alleged undisclosed web of Mauritius and offshore shell entities,” Hindenburg report said.
In response to these developments, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh released a statement condemning Sebi’s reluctance to thoroughly investigate what he termed as the “Adani mega scam.” He pointed to observations made by the Supreme Court’s Expert Committee, which noted Sebi’s dilution and subsequent removal of reporting requirements related to the ultimate beneficial ownership of foreign funds in 2018 and 2019.
“This had tied its hands to the extent that ‘the securities market regulator suspects wrongdoing, but also finds compliance with various stipulations in attendant regulations… It is this dichotomy that has led to Sebi drawing a blank worldwide,” Ramesh said, quoting the Expert Committee.
Ramesh further asserted that the new allegations from Hindenburg show that both Madhabi Buch and her husband were financially connected to the same offshore entities involved in the over-invoicing scandal tied to Adani Group companies. “It is shocking that Buch would have a financial stake in these same funds,” he said, adding that these funds were allegedly used to amass large stakes in Adani Group companies in violation of Sebi regulations.
Ramesh also questioned the significance of two meetings between Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and Buch shortly after she assumed her role as Sebi Chairperson.
“The government must act immediately to eliminate all conflicts of interest in the Sebi investigation of Adani. The fact is that the seeming complicity of the highest officials of the land can only be resolved by setting up a JPC (joint parliamentary committee) to investigate the full scope of the Adani mega scam,” he added in the post.
Ramesh took to social media, tagging the Hindenburg post on X and quoting the Latin phrase, “Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes” (who will guard the guards themselves) to target the Sebi chief after the latest report.
He also speculated on the abrupt adjournment of Parliament two days ahead of its scheduled date, writing, “Parliament was notified to sit till the evening of August 12th. Suddenly it got adjourned sine die on the afternoon of Aug 9th itself. Now we know why.”
Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra also launched an attack, criticising Sebi’s integrity under Buch’s leadership and calling for a reconsideration of the Supreme Court’s previous decision not to pursue further investigations beyond those conducted by Sebi.
“We cannot trust Sebi under this Chairperson to do any enquiry into Adani. Supreme Court will HAVE to revisit its decision post this information becoming public,” she said in a tweet.
Moitra added, “In true Adani style – even Sebi Chairman is investor in his group. Crony Capitalism at its finest. @CBiHeadquarters&@Dir_ED – will you be filing POCA and PMLA cases or not?”
The Hindenburg Research’s January 2023 report had already accused the Adani Group of orchestrating “the largest con in corporate history,” triggering a massive sell-off that wiped out over USD 150 billion in market value across the conglomerate’s listed entities. Although the Adani Group has denied all allegations, the ongoing scrutiny has kept the issue in the public eye, with both Sebi and the Supreme Court facing mounting pressure to ensure a transparent and comprehensive investigation.
As of now, Sebi has not issued any official response to the latest allegations. The regulator’s social media account on X was found to be locked, with posts inaccessible to non-followers.