Sebi’s Chief is caught under another storm after Adani-Hindenburg Research report, as a media report accuses her of earning money by violating SEBI’s policy of 2008
The Security and Exchange Board of India’s chief, Madhabi Puri Buch, made money from a consultancy firm, violating rules of the regulator as per public documents reviewed by Reuters. Buch who joined SEBI in 2017 as a whole-time member reportedly, continued to earn from the firm during her seven-year tenure.
According to the documents cited by the Reuters, Agora Advisory Pvt Ltd in which 99 per cent shares are held by Madhabi Buch, earned Rs 37.1 million in seven years. Buch’s holdings potentially breaches the 2008 SEBI policy, adds the report. The 2008 SEBI policy restricts officials from holding an office of profit, receiving salary or professional fees from other professional activities.
Madhabi Buch and her husband jointly released a statement on August 11 where she mentioned the consulting business firms are used by her husband and the fact has been disclosed to SEBI.
This comes just around the time when the watchdog’s chief and her husband Dhaval Buch are in the center of Adani-Hindenburg storm. In January last year the short-seller released a released a report titled, “The largest con in corporate history”. The Adani Group was accused of stock manipulation and financial misconduct.
SEBI on June 27 sent a show cause notice to Hindenburg calling out short-seller's accusations lacked evidence.
Consequently, 18 months after its Adani report, Hindenburg published another report on August 10, 2024 accusing the SEBI chief and her husband to have been involved in Adani Group’s offshore funds scandal.
“... the current SEBI chairperson and her husband, Dhaval Buch, had hidden stakes in the exact same obscure offshore Bermuda and Mauritius funds, found in the same complex nested structure, used by Vinod Adani,” said the US-based short-seller in its recent report.
Additionally, the shortseller also named two consultancy firms- Singapore-based Agora Partners and India-based Agora Advisory which are run by Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband.