"Instead of responding to SEBI, Hindenburg attacked SEBI Chair; allegations are rubbish," says SC advocate Mahesh Jethmalani

New Delhi [India], August 11 : Targeting Hindenburg Research over its fresh allegations, BJP Rajya Sabha MP and senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani said that the US short seller had chosen to attack the SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch instead of responding to a notice from the market regulator.
"Hindenburg's "Something big" is a pathetic damp squib. The announcement prior to its alleged big revelation itself reveals its motive: to destabilise India's stock markets. The pre publicity ill behoves a reputed "research analyst ". As regards the "big" something there is nothing new against the Adani group," his post on X read.

The target is now the regulator- SEBI -Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch. SEBI had issued a notice to Hindenburg seeking information regarding the circumstances of the Adani short sale as it was entitled to. Instead of responding to the show cause notice, Hindenburg has chosen to attack its chairperson on the ground of conflict of interest (more on the grounds on which the attack is based after Ms Buch issues a detailed statement as announced; suffice it to say that the grounds are prima facie rubbish)," Jethmalani said.
The senior advocate also urged the government to turn serious attention to those who were looking to devastate the economy.
"The picture thus is one of a US-based profiteer who made millions of dollars at the cost of Indian retail investors now hedging questions legitimately asked by the Indian regulator and brazenly defaming the latter without answering its questions. This reeks of colonial arrogance of days bygone and contempt by a rich country national fortified by safe harbour, of the economic sovereignty of an Emerging nation. And as is to be expected a host of left-leaning media outlets - slaves to foreign masters all and wannabe rulers with their help- have called for Ms Buch's head. It is time, the govt of the day turned its serious attention to these anti nationals who have no other agenda but to disrupt India's social fabric, distort its polity and now devastate its economy," Mahesh Jethmalani said in his post on X.
Earlier on July 19, Jethmalani had called on the government to probe the links of political voices, who sought to target the Adani group after the Hindenburg report, with China. He had also flagged an alleged Chinese hand behind the report by the American short seller Hindenburg that targeted the Indian conglomerate.
Jethmalani alleged that the hit job on the Adani group was Chinese vengeance for losing out on infrastructure projects like the Haifa Port.
Meanwhile, the Adani group has also rejected the latest allegations by Hindenburg calling them a manipulation of available information.
"The latest allegations by Hindenburg Research are malicious, mischievous, and manipulative selections of publicly available information to arrive at pre-determined conclusions for "personal profiteering with wanton disregard for facts and the law", an Adani Group spokesperson said on August 11, hours after the US-based short seller shot off fresh allegations.
"We completely reject these allegations against the Adani Group which are a recycling of discredited claims that have been thoroughly investigated, proven to be baseless and already dismissed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in January 2024," the Adani Group spokesperson informed stock exchanges in a filing dated August 11.
Shortly after Hindenburg Research published its allegations against SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch and her husband claiming that they had stakes in "both the obscure offshore entities used in the Adani money siphoning scandal," the SEBI Chairperson and her husband issued a joint statement rejecting the allegations.
Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband accused Hindenburg Research, against whom SEBI has taken enforcement action, of "character assassination."
In the joint statement released to the media they said, "Our life and finances are an open book. All disclosures as required have already been furnished to SEBI over the years. We have no hesitation in disclosing any and all financial documents, including those that relate to the period when we were strictly private citizens, to any and every authority that may seek them. It is unfortunate that Hindenburg Research against whom SEBI has taken an Enforcement action and issued a show cause notice has chosen to attempt character assassination in response to the same."
On August 10, Hindenburg published a report alleging, "We had previously noted Adani's total confidence in continuing to operate without the risk of serious regulatory intervention, suggesting that this may be explained through Adani's relationship with SEBI Chairperson, Madhabi Buch."
"What we hadn't realized: 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," the report by the US hedge firm alleged.
In January 2023, Hindenburg published a report accusing the Adani Group of financial irregularities, leading to a significant drop in the company's stock price. The group at the time had rubbished these claims.
In January 2024, the Supreme Court refused to transfer the probe into the allegations of stock price manipulation by the Adani group to an SIT and had directed market regulator SEBI to complete its probe into two pending cases within three months.
Earlier this year the SC also dismissed a plea seeking to review the verdict that had sought investigation by the market watchdog SEBI in the Adani-Hindenburg case.