Short-seller Hindenburg Research has put out a series of tweets in response to a statement issued by market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) over a report that raised concerns about SEBI’s actions in relation to the Adani Group.

Hindenburg has alleged that SEBI was tasked with investigating investment funds related to the Adani Group, which would also include funds that Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch was personally invested in, alleging a conflict of interest.

The series of tweets claim that Agora Advisory Limited (India), is still owned 99% by the SEBI Chairperson and not her husband, adding that the entity is currently active and generating consulting revenue. It also claims that the SEBI Chairperson remained a 100% shareholder of Agora Partners Singapore until March 16, 2022, citing Singaporean records, owning it during her entire time as SEBI whole-time member. The shares were allegedly transferred into her husband, Dhaval Buch’s name two weeks after her appointment as SEBI Chairperson.

SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch’s response to our report includes several important admissions and raises numerous new critical questions.

(1/x) https://t.co/Usk0V6e90K

— Hindenburg Research (@HindenburgRes) August 11, 2024

Also Read: AMFI backs SEBI chief, says Hindenburg report ‘attempts to create trust deficit in market’

Madhabi Puri Buch had become a whole-time member of SEBI in 2017 before being appointed as Chairperson in 2022.

Hindenburg’s thread points to the statement that Dhaval Buch used the consulting entities starting in 2019 to transact with unnamed “prominent clients in the Indian industry” asking whether these also include entities that SEBI is tasked with regulating.

Also Read: Adani allegations fully investigated, Chairperson Buch disclosed and recused as required: SEBI

The Background

US short-seller Hindenburg Research, over the weekend, alleged that SEBI’s reluctance to act against the Adani Group might be linked to its head, Madhabi Puri Buch, having stakes in offshore funds associated with the conglomerate.

Buch labelled the claims as “baseless” and characterised them as an attempt at “character assassination.”

Hindenburg accused Buch and her husband of holding undisclosed investments in obscure offshore funds located in Bermuda and Mauritius—entities reportedly utilized by Vinod Adani, the elder brother of group chairman Gautam Adani, to engage in round-tripping of funds and inflate stock prices.

Also Read: Hindenburg-Adani Case Highlights: Madhabi Buch recused herself in matters involving potential conflicts of interest, says SEBI