NEW DELHI : Hindenburg Research on Saturday released a report alleging that Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch had stakes in ‘obscure’ offshore entities linked to the ‘Adani money siphoning scandal’.

The latest development comes after the US-based short-seller posted a cryptic message hinting at a possible new India-centric report.

The report claims that documentation from whistleblowers indicates their involvement in these offshore entities. Hindenburg claimed this is why SEBI did not conduct a thorough investigation into the conglomerate.

“We suspect SEBI’s unwillingness to take meaningful action against suspect offshore shareholders in the Adani Group may stem from Chairperson Madhabi Buch’s complicity in using the exact same funds used by Vinod Adani, brother of Gautam Adani,” the report claimed.

The Adani Group, on Sunday strongly refuted the latest allegations made by Hindenburg Research, describing them as “malicious, mischievous, and manipulative.” In an official statement, the conglomerate accused Hindenburg of selectively using publicly available information to reach pre-determined conclusions for personal gain, without regard for facts or the law.

The Adani Group categorically rejected the claims, stating that these allegations are merely a recycling of discredited accusations that have been thoroughly investigated, proven baseless, and dismissed by the Supreme Court of India in January 2024.

The statement emphasized that the Adani Group’s overseas holding structure is fully transparent, with all relevant details disclosed regularly in public documents. The company also clarified that Anil Ahuja, mentioned in the allegations, was a nominee director of three investment funds in Adani Power from 2007 to 2008 and later served as a director of Adani Enterprises until 2017.

“The Adani Group has absolutely no commercial relationship with the individuals or matters mentioned in this calculated deliberate effort to malign our standing,” the company asserted. It reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements.

The statement also took aim at Hindenburg Research, describing the firm as a “discredited short-seller” under investigation for multiple violations of Indian securities laws. The Adani Group dismissed Hindenburg’s allegations as “red herrings” thrown by a desperate entity with “total contempt for Indian laws.”

Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband also rubbished the allegations levelled against them by Hindenburg as “baseless” and asserted that their finances are an open book.

In their statement, Madhabi Puri Buch and Dhaval Buch also said 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.

“In the context of allegations made in the Hindenburg Report dated August 10,2024 against us, we would like to state that we strongly deny the baseless allegations and insinuations made in the report.

The same are devoid of any truth. Our life and finances are an open book. All disclosures as required have already been furnished to SEBI over the years,” the statment said.

Buchs further said they 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.

“Further, in the interest of complete transparency, we would be issuing a detailed statement in due course,” they added.

In January 2023, Hindenburg had released a report alleging financial irregularities, including stock manipulation and fraud, within the Adani Group, leading to a substantial decline in the company’s stock price.

Most stocks bounced back eventually. The conglomerate has also denied the accusations consistently and slapped Hindeburg with a defamation notice. The apex court, in a ruling last year, said that SEBI had “drawn a blank” in its investigation into the allegations surrounding the Adani Group. 

In its latest report released on Saturday, Hindenburg alleged that whistleblower documents revealed SEBI Chair Madhabi Buch and her husband held stakes in ‘obscure’ offshore funds implicated in the ‘Adani money siphoning scandal’.

“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,” the US short-seller claimed in its report.

“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,” Hindenburg added.

The report also claimed that SEBI faced difficulties in responding to requests from the Supreme Court for an investigation into the Adani issue.

“If SEBI really wanted to find the offshore fund holders, perhaps the SEBI chairperson could have started by looking in the mirror. We find it unsurprising that SEBI was reluctant to follow a trail that may have led to its own chairperson,” Hindenburg said.