Dhaval Buch
Credit: LinkedIn/Dhaval Buch
US short-seller Hindenburg Research launched a fresh broadside against market regulator Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, alleging she and her husband Dhaval had stakes in obscure offshore funds used in the Adani money siphoning scandal.
Hindenburg said 18 months since its damning report on Adani, Sebi has shown a surprising "lack of interest" in Adani's alleged undisclosed web of Mauritius and offshore shell entities.
Citing "whistleblower documents", it said, "Madhabi Buch, the current chairperson of Sebi, and her husband had stakes in both obscure offshore funds used in the Adani money siphoning scandal."
Obscure offshore Bermuda and Mauritius funds, allegedly controlled by Vinod Adani -- elder brother of group chairman Gautam Adani -- are alleged to have been used to round-trip funds and inflate stock price.
Hindenburg said, "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 Rs 83 crore ($10 million)."
"If Sebi really wanted to find the offshore fund holders, perhaps the Sebi chairperson could have started by looking in the mirror," it said. "We find it unsurprising that Sebi was reluctant to follow a trail that may have led to its own chairperson."
According to Hindenburg, Madhabi and her husband had undisclosed investments in obscure offshore funds in Bermuda and Mauritius, the same entities allegedly used by Vinod Adani.
These investments reportedly date back to 2015, well before Madhabi's appointment as a whole-time member of Sebi in 2017 and her elevation to Sebi chairperson in March 2022.
"Vinod Adani, brother of Gautam Adani, used this structure to invest in Indian markets with funds allegedly siphoned from over-invoicing of power equipment to Adani Group," claimed Hindenburg.
Who is Dhaval Buch?
Currently a senior advisor at the Blackstone and Alvarez & Marsal, Dhaval is the husband of Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch.
Dhaval is also a non-executive director on the Board of Gildan.
Previously, he was the chief Executive Officer of Bristlecone and the Interim President of Group Technology for the Mahindra Group.
He has also served as an Executive Director at the Unilever where he rose to become its Chief Procurement Officer.
Dhaval has completed his BTech and MTech from IIT Delhi in 1979-1984.