Citing whistleblower documents, a new report by Hindenburg Research said Madhabi Buch, chairperson of market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and her husband owned stakes in offshore entities linked to the Adani Group’s alleged financial misconduct.
Hindenburg said 18 months since its damning report on Adani, “SEBI has shown a surprising lack of interest in Adani’s alleged undisclosed web of Mauritius and offshore shell entities.”
According to the Hindenburg, Madhabi Buch and her husband had undisclosed investments in obscure offshore funds in Bermuda and Mauritius, the same entities allegedly used by Vinod Adani, brother of Gautam Adani, to manipulate the financial markets. These investments reportedly date back to 2015, well before Madhabi Buch’s appointment as a whole-time member of SEBI in 2017 and her elevation to SEBI chairperson in March 2022.
The report alleges that just weeks before Buch’s appointment to SEBI, her husband requested the transfer of their investments into his sole control, potentially to avoid any scrutiny related to her new regulatory role.
“In the letter, Dhaval Buch requested to “be the sole person authorised to operate the Accounts”, seemingly moving the assets out of his wife’s name ahead of the politically sensitive appointment,” it alleged.
The couple’s investments were reportedly funnelled through a complex, multi-layered offshore structure, raising questions about their legitimacy and purpose.
“In a later account statement dated February 26th, 2018, addressed to Madhabi Buch’s private email, the full details of the structure are revealed: “GDOF Cell 90 (IPEplus Fund 1)”. Again, this is the exact same Mauritius-registered “cell” of the fund, found several layers deep in a convoluted structure, reportedly used by Vinod Adani,” it alleged.
Read: Supreme Court rejects plea to review order in Adani-Hindenburg case
Hindenburg’s report suggests that SEBI’s alleged lenient action against the Adani Group’s suspicious offshore shareholders may stem from Buch’s personal financial ties to the same entities under investigation. The report also points to her role in promoting Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in India, an asset class significantly benefiting Blackstone, where her husband serves as a senior advisor.
“Conflict or capture? Either way, we do not think SEBI can be trusted as an objective arbiter in the Adani matter,” Hindenburg concluded.
Read: ‘Hit job on Adani was Chinese vengeance’: BJP leader’s claim over Hindenburg row
The Hindenburg report is the latest in a series of allegations against the Adani Group, a conglomerate accused of stock manipulation and financial misconduct in a January 2023 report by the same research firm. That report led to a steep decline in Adani’s stock prices, wiping out over $100 billion in market value.
Earlier in the day, Hindenburg Research shared a cryptic post on X, hinting at another major India-focused report.
“Something big soon India,” the firm wrote.
