Hindenburg Report: In a recent thread of tweets on X (formerly Twitter), Hindenburg Research has responded to the comments of SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband, Dhaval Buch, as follows in reply to allegations made earlier on August 10, 2024. The Buchs had sought to explain their position regarding an investment made in 2015, ahead of the appointment of Madhabi Buch to SEBI, and hence prior to the potential occurrence of conflict of interest, as essentially on account of Dhaval Buch’s childhood friend, Anil Ahuja, who is widely reported to be a career investor with substantial experience at Citibank, JP Morgan, and the like.
Buchs Defend Investment Choice
“The Buchs said that the investment made was in a fund where, under Ahuja, the investment portfolio does not have any bonds, equities, or derivatives linked directly back to the Adani Group,” pointed out the Buchs. But it came swashbuckling in full force at the Buchs with ease, pointing out that the response coming from the Buchs, in fact, reveals newer and more disturbing facts.
Hindenburg noted that the Madhabi Buch investment in having invested in a “Bermuda/Mauritius fund structure” could be linked to funds that had allegedly been siphoned by Vinod Adani. Moreover, the fund is being managed by a known business associate of one Dhaval Buch, who at the time was a director of the Adani Group. A potential conflict of interest problem arises out of the fact that at that time, SEBI was under instructions to investigate the funds in connection with the Adani Group.
Hindenburg Questions Buch’s Claims About Consulting Firms
It has also raised questions about Madhabi Buch’s assertion that her consulting companies in India and Singapore had been dormant since she joined Sebi in 2017. They argue that while the Indian one, Agora Advisory Limited, was supposedly making big income under the ownership of her husband, the Singaporean one, Agora Partners Singapore, remained under her exclusive control until March 16, 2022—that is, just a day before her tenure as SEBI chief ended.
Financial Documents Reveal Revenue
Hindenburg pointed out to the financial documents that signaled the revenue of Agora Advisory Limited to be approximately INR 23.985 mn, which is about USD 312,000 for the financial years 2022, 2023, 2024, hinting at undisclosed business dealing that might be in conflict with the official responsibilities of Buch. The firm has also raised apprehensions based on whistleblower information that Madhabi Buch used her personal email to conduct business through her husband’s name during her SEBI tenure.
Adani Account Allegations
In connection with this, Hindenburg alleged that the Madhabi Buch had arranged for accounts linked to Adani to be held in the name of her husband prior to her joining SEBI in 2017. They cited a private email from Buch a year into her tenure at SEBI, showing redemption of stakes in these funds lying in the name of her husband. This, Hindenburg argues, begs questions about what other sorts of investments or business deals Buch may have carried out through her husband while serving in office.
Based on these allegations, Hindenburg Research is demanding a full and transparent public inquiry into the financial dealings and consulting activities of Madhabi Buch. The firm has pressed Buch for a comprehensive list of clients that she consults for and all the business activities related to it that were undertaken by her and her husband’s entities, demanding transparency that Buch had promised but not delivered.
