Integrity of SEBI questioned, JPC probe into Hindenburg a must": INDIA bloc targets govt on Hindenburg allegations

New Delhi [India], August 11 : The allegations of the US Short seller Hindenburg against SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch and her husband have drawn sharp political reactions from the opposition parties.
Reacting to the Hindenburg report, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Ghanshyam Tiwari on Sunday lashed out at the Modi government and said that the tenure of PM Modi will be known for 'Adani-waad'.
"The whole world witnessed a different session with different ideologies but the term of PM Modi will be known as 'Adani-waad'. In this Adani-waad, they captured the whole economic system of India in such a way that Gautam Adani (Adani Group) could benefit, it looks like this is the only motive of PM Modi," he said.
Referring to the Hindenburg Report alleging SEBI chief Madhabi Buch and her husband's stakes in "both the obscure offshore entities used in the Adani money siphoning scandal", Tiwari stated, "Hindenburg's report regarding the SEBI chief has triggered the integrity of the market regulator. Hindenburg alleged that SEBI is not investigating properly. Questions are being raised on the Adani Group continuously by the opposition. Anybody with a basic investigation can simply question how the Adani Group with different allegations of corruption, whether it is a coal scam or power, through the medium of offshoring, invested in the share markets. SEBI whose duty was to investigate and find out the criminals was deviating from the core issues."
Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh alleged that the Modi government is steeped in corruption and is trying to save "their friend Adani".
Taking it to a social media post on X, Sanjay Singh wrote, "The Hindenburg revelations were hinted at 3 days before Modi ended the Parliament session. Modi Government is steeped in corruption from head to toe. To save his friend Adani, Modi Ji got the investigation done by the same SEBI Chairman who had committed the scam in connivance with Adani. SC should reconsider its decision."
Congress MP Manish Tewari said that a JPC must be constituted to go into the entire Hindenburg saga.
"There are certain revelations by the Hindenburg Research which have been put out in the public space. They require closer scrutiny...There seems to be some semblance of an alleged conflict of interest and so therefore under those circumstances there has been a demand in the public space for a while that the entire Hindenburg saga needs to be investigated properly by a joint parliamentary committee. It would be in the fitness of things if a joint parliamentary committee is constituted to go into all these issues at length," he said.
Earlier in the day, shortly after US-based short seller Hindenburg Research on August 10 alleged that SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch and her husband 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."
Earlier on Saturday, US short seller Hindenburg had alleged, "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 said.
Hindenburg Research said it has made the new allegations based on documents provided by a whistleblower and investigations carried out by other entities.
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.
The Hindenburg report alleged stock manipulation and fraud by the conglomerate. The case is related to the allegations (part of a report by Hindenburg Research) that Adani had inflated its share prices. After these allegations were published, there was a sharp fall in the shares of various Adani group companies' stocks.
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.