Mumbai:US-based short seller Hindenburg Research is attempting to attack Sebi's credibility and indulging in character assassination of its chairperson, Sebi chief Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval said on Sunday.
In a detailed statement issued on Sunday evening in response to allegations made by Hindenburg, the Buchs said their investment in a fund promoted by IIFL Wealth Management was as Singapore-based private citizens, and made two years before Madhabi joined Sebi as a whole-time member. They said Dhaval, a senior advisor at Blackstone since 2019, is not associated with the real estate side of the private equity major.
The statement also said that Madhabi's two consulting companies immediately became "dormant" on her appointment at Sebi in 2017 as a whole-time member. "Hindenburg has been served a show cause notice for a variety of violations in India. It is unfortunate that instead of replying to the Show Cause Notice, they have chosen to attack the credibility of the SEBI and attempt character assassination of the SEBI Chairperson," the statement said.
In a statement shared right after the short seller came up with its latest report, Buchs termed the allegations as "baseless". Hindenburg Research alleged that it suspects SEBI's unwillingness to act against Adani group may be because Madhabi Buch had stakes in offshore funds linked to the conglomerate.
"The investment in the fund referred to in the Hindenburg report was made in 2015 when they were both private citizens living in Singapore. The decision to invest in this fund was because the Chief Investment Officer, Anil Ahuja, is Dhaval’s childhood friend from school and IIT Delhi and, being an ex-employee of Citibank, JP Morgan and 3i Group plc, had many decades of strong investing career. As confirmed by Anil Ahuja, at no point in time did the fund invest in any bond, equity, or derivative of any Adani group company..." reads the Buchs statement. (with agency inputs)
