The ghost of Hindenburg has come out once again. Now Hindenburg has targeted the SEBI chief and her husband. Hindenburg has alleged that the SEBI chief and her husband are involved in the alleged Adani scam. Hindenburg quoted the whistleblower and said that if SEBI had investigated Adani’s offshore companies, the Buch couple could have been trapped. The special thing is that this time along with SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch, her husband’s name has also come up. Everyone knows Madhabi Puri Buch. But who is Dhawal Buch, the husband of SEBI chief who has come into the limelight for the first time? Let us tell you about him too. Before that, let us try to understand the allegations made by Hindenburg.
Allegations against the Buch couple of Hindenburg
- Hindenburg said in a report released late Saturday night that Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chief Buch and her husband Dhawal Buch have stakes in the foreign fund that was used for alleged misappropriation of funds in the Adani Group.
- According to Hindenburg, Buch and her husband had made undeclared investments in obscure offshore funds in Bermuda and Mauritius. It said these were the same funds that were allegedly used by Vinod Adani to launder money and inflate the share prices of the group’s companies. Vinod Adani is the elder brother of Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani.
- According to Hindenburg, these entities were allegedly involved in the network used by Vinod Adani to siphon off money, raising questions about SEBI’s impartiality due to a potential conflict of interest.
- According to Hindenburg, these investments were allegedly made in 2015. These investments were made much before the appointment of Madhavi Puri Buch as a full-time member of SEBI in 2017 and her becoming its chairperson in March 2022.
- According to the report, Bermuda-based Global Opportunities Fund was also among those who invested in this fund. Global Opportunities Fund was allegedly used by units associated with the Adani Group to trade in the shares of the group’s companies.
- According to the report, documents obtained from a whistleblower show that on March 22, 2017, just weeks before Buch was appointed SEBI chairperson, Dhawal Buch wrote an email to Mauritius fund administrator Trident Trust. This email was about his and his wife’s investment in the Global Dynamic Opportunities Fund (GDOF).
Who is Dhawal Buch?
Dhaval Buch is currently a senior advisor at Blackstone and Alvarez & Marsal, and also serves as a non-executive director on the board of Gildan. He is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-Delhi), where he graduated in mechanical engineering in 1984. Previously, he served as an executive director at Unilever and became its chief procurement officer. His LinkedIn profile describes him as having “deep experience in all aspects of procurement and supply chain.”
What did the Hindenburg Research Report claim?
According to whistleblower documents cited by Hindenburg, Dhaval Buch’s net worth is $10 million. The documents show that he was with Unilever when the alleged investments in Vinod Adani’s companies took place. Further, the Hindenburg report mentions that during Dhaval Buch’s tenure as a senior advisor at Blackstone, the company sponsored Mindspace and Nexus Select Trust, India’s second and fourth real estate investment trusts to receive SEBI approval for IPOs.
termed the allegation baseless
On the other hand, SEBI Chief and her husband have jointly issued a statement rejecting the allegations of Hindenburg and calling it completely baseless. He said that the allegations made in the report are completely baseless and unfounded. There is not an iota of truth in them. Our life and financial situation are like an open book. All the necessary disclosures have already been given to SEBI over the years. We have no hesitation in disclosing any financial documents. Buch said that it is unfortunate that in response to the enforcement action taken by SEBI and the show cause notice issued by Hindenburg Research, an attempt has been made to corner and defame us. He also said that keeping in mind complete transparency, a detailed statement will be issued in due time.
