Sebi's delay in Adani probe allowed Modi to navigate polls without addressing role in 'close friend's illicit activities': Congress

On March 3, 2023, the Supreme Court directed Sebi to "expeditiously conclude the investigation" into allegations of stock manipulation and accounting fraud against the Adani Group within two months..

New Delhi: Stepping up the attack over the Adani issue, the Congress on Monday pounded on the Securities and Exchanges Board of India (Sebi), alleging that the market regulator is seeking to project an “image of hyperactivity” following the new Hindenburg report on its chief Madhuri Buch, but reminded that what matters is actions not activities.

Rejecting the Sebi statement defending its action on Adani Group and giving a clean chit to its chief, the party demanded that the Supreme Court must transfer the investigation to the CBI or a Special Investigation Team “given the likelihood of Sebi’s compromise”.

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh also reiterated the party’s demand for Buch’s resignation and a probe by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). “At a minimum, the Sebi Chairperson must resign to restore Sebi’s integrity,” he said.

He said the Sebi response on the ongoing probe into Adani Group has “sought to project an image of hyperactivity” by referring to issuance of 100 summons, 1,100 letters and emails and examining documents running into 12,000 pages. “This must have been very exhausting, but it diverts attention from the core issues involved. Actions matter, not activities,” he said.

In a statement, he said the “illusion” that the Sebi Chairperson and her husband had separated their finances has been “shattered by the revelation” that after joining Sebi, she had transactions in the fund from her personal email account on February 25, 2018.

It is “shocking to discover” that the Sebi Chairperson and her husband invested in the same Bermuda and Mauritius-based offshore funds where Vinod Adani and his close associates, Chang Chung-Ling and Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli, also invested, he said, adding that both these funds were currently under Sebi investigation.

“Did the Sebi Chairperson recuse herself from the Adani investigations? Do these conflicts of interest explain the prolonged investigation, a delay that has benefited both Adani and the Prime Minister while damaging Sebi’s reputation? How can a match proceed if the umpire herself is compromised?” Ramesh said.

On SC’s March 2023 order to investigate the allegations of stock manipulation by Adani Group, he said the Sebi investigation remains incomplete . The fact is that Sebi’s seeming inability to close two of its 24 investigations against Adani Group has delayed the publication of its findings for over a year, he said.

This “delay conveniently” allowed Prime Minister Narendra Modi to navigate an entire general election without addressing his role in facilitating his “close friend’s illicit activities”, he alleged.