Finance Ministry dismisses reports of investigation of Hindenburg's allegation against SEBI chief
New Delhi: Sources from the Finance Ministry on Tuesday dismissed a media report suggesting that the ministry was considering forming a panel to investigate allegations made by Hindenburg Research against SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, according to a Moneycontrol report.
Earlier in the day, the news service Informist had reported, citing a senior government official, that such a panel might include members from SEBI and government officials.
The official noted that if allegations were made against the chairperson, it wouldn’t make sense for a statement to be issued under her leadership, even though eight other members are part of SEBI’s board.
The potential panel could include both full-time and part-time members of SEBI's board, as well as government officials.
This development stems from allegations made by the U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research on August 10, accusing Buch and her husband of having investments in obscure offshore funds that were allegedly involved in the “Adani money siphoning scandal.”
These latest accusations are related to Hindenburg’s January 2023 report, which accused the Adani Group of financial misconduct and stock manipulation.
Hindenburg claimed that SEBI had avoided thoroughly investigating these past allegations due to Buch’s conflict of interest.
Buch, SEBI, and the Adani Group have all denied these recent allegations.
In a related issue, on August 16, Reuters reported that Buch’s earnings from a consultancy firm, while serving as part of SEBI, violated the organization’s rules.
Buch joined SEBI in 2017 and was appointed its chief in March 2022. Hindenburg's report highlighted two consultancy firms: Agora Partners, based in Singapore, and India-based Agora Advisory, both run by Buch and her husband, Dhaval Buch.
According to documents from the Registrar of Companies, Reuters previously reported that Buch, during her seven years at SEBI, held a 99% stake in Agora Advisory and earned Rs 3.71 crore in revenue, which violates a 2008 SEBI policy prohibiting its officials from earning income from other professional activities.
Buch has stated that she made all necessary disclosures. Reuters further reported that Buch transferred her shares in Agora Partners to her husband in March 2022 but retained shares in the Indian unit, which a former top bureaucrat, Subhash Chandra Garg, described as a "very serious" breach of conduct.
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