Eighteen months after releasing its study on the Adani Group, US-based short seller Hindenburg Research claimed on Saturday that Madhabi Puri Buch, the head of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), and her spouse, Dhaval Buch, own shares in obscure offshore firms connected to the Adani money-siphoning scheme.
Despite the evidence and over 40 independent media investigations exposing Adani Group’s actions, the short seller claimed that Sebi had not publicly condemned the company.
“Our initial report on the Adani Group, which was published almost eighteen months ago, contained substantial proof that the Indian conglomerate was running ‘the largest con in corporate history.'” Our research revealed a network of offshore shell corporations, the majority of which were based in Mauritius, that were reportedly used to manipulate stocks covertly, make undisclosed investments, and conduct related party transactions worth billions of dollars. Despite the facts and over forty independent media investigations that corroborate and supplement our initial study, the Indian securities regulator Sebi has not officially taken action against the Adani Group since that time. Rather, on June 27, 2024, we received an apparent “show cause” notification from Sebi. On its website, The Hindenburg published a report on Saturday. “Rather than highlighting any factual inaccuracies in our 106-page report, it argued that we should have disclosed our short position even more thoroughly, which we did do on multiple occasions.
“We had already observed Adani’s complete confidence in carrying on with business as usual without the possibility of significant regulatory involvement,” the Hindenburg report continued, suggesting that this may be explained by Adani’s association with Madhabi Buch, the chairperson of Sebi. We were not aware that the current chairperson of Sebi and her spouse, Dhaval Buch, had hidden holdings in the same opaque offshore funds that Vinod Adani employs in Bermuda and Mauritius, two locations with identical complex hierarchies.”
According to Hindenburg, Buch and her spouse may have created their account with IPE Plus Fund 1 in Singapore on June 5, 2015. A minor offshore fund called the IPE fund was established in Mauritius by an Adani director through India Infoline (IIFL), a wealth management firm involved in the Wirecard theft scandal. “Vinod Adani, brother of Gautam Adani, used this structure to invest in Indian markets with funds allegedly syphoned from over invoicing of power equipment to Adani Group,” stated Hindenburg.
“A declaration of funds, signed by a principal at IIFL states that the source of the investment is ‘salary’ and the couple´s net worth is estimated at $10 million,” the firm that sold shorts said.
After exposing the Adani Group, the short seller hinted at another significant revelation regarding India earlier in the day.