{"id":17943,"date":"2024-08-14T12:39:45","date_gmt":"2024-08-14T07:09:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bigbreakingwire.in\/hindenburg-rebuttal-sebi-chairpersons-response-highlights-key-admissions-and-raises-new-critical-questions\/"},"modified":"2024-08-14T12:39:48","modified_gmt":"2024-08-14T07:09:48","slug":"hindenburg-rebuttal-sebi-chairpersons-response-highlights-key-admissions-and-raises-new-critical-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bigbreakingwire.in\/hindenburg-rebuttal-sebi-chairpersons-response-highlights-key-admissions-and-raises-new-critical-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Hindenburg Rebuttal: SEBI Chairperson’s Response Highlights Key Admissions and Raises New Critical Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch\u2019s response to our report includes several key admissions and introduces numerous new critical questions. Hindenburg’s rebuttal emphasizes that these admissions validate some of their initial findings and casts doubt on the regulatory practices and oversight involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buch\u2019s response publicly confirms her investment in a little-known Bermuda\/Mauritius fund structure, alongside funds allegedly siphoned by Vinod Adani. She also acknowledged that this fund was managed by a childhood friend of her husband, who was an Adani director at the time.

SEBI was responsible for investigating investment funds related to the Adani matter, including those in which Ms. Buch was personally invested and those from the same sponsor highlighted in our original report. This situation represents a significant conflict of interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buch\u2019s statement asserts that the two consulting companies she established\u2014the Indian entity and the opaque Singaporean entity\u2014”became immediately dormant upon her appointment with SEBI” in 2017, with her husband taking over management starting in 2019.

However, according to the latest shareholding list dated March 31, 2024, Agora Advisory Limited (India) is still 99% owned by Madhabi Buch, not her husband. This entity remains active and continues to generate consulting revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/BigBreakingWire\/status\/1822704398356938834?t=vP_o_YYg_XiBbPEtsRxW2w&s=19\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, records from Singapore show that Buch was a 100% shareholder of Agora Partners Singapore until March 16, 2022. She owned this company throughout her tenure as a SEBI Whole Time Member and only transferred her shares to her husband two weeks after her appointment as SEBI Chairperson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Singaporean consulting entity she established does not publicly disclose its financials, such as revenue or profit, making it impossible to determine how much money this entity earned during her tenure at SEBI.

In contrast, the Indian entity, which remains 99% owned by the SEBI Chairperson, has generated INR 23.985 million (approximately USD $312,000) in consulting revenue during the financial years 2022, 2023, and 2024, according to its financial statements from that period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/BigBreakingWire\/status\/1822704857901605073?t=T4myJQOnWkPADIWA9oYUKA&s=19\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This issue is particularly significant in light of whistleblower documents indicating that Buch used her personal email to conduct business in her husband\u2019s name while serving as a Whole Time Member of SEBI.

In 2017, just weeks before her appointment as SEBI Whole Time Member, she arranged for accounts linked to Adani to be registered solely in her husband Dhaval Buch\u2019s name, according to these documents.

Despite disclaiming any control, a private email sent a year into her SEBI term reveals that she redeemed stakes in these funds through her husband\u2019s name.

This raises the question: What other investments or business dealings has the SEBI Chairperson undertaken through her husband\u2019s name while serving in an official capacity?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Buch stated that her husband began using the consulting entities in 2019 to conduct transactions with unnamed \u201cprominent clients in the Indian industry.\u201d

Does this include clients that SEBI is responsible for regulating?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buch\u2019s statement pledged a \u201ccommitment to complete transparency.\u201d

In light of this, will she publicly disclose the full list of consulting clients and details of the engagements conducted through the offshore Singaporean consulting firm, the Indian consulting firm, and any other entities in which she or her husband may have an interest?

Additionally, will the SEBI Chairperson commit to a thorough, transparent, and public investigation into these matters?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Update<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Financial Services Commission of Mauritius clarified on Tuesday that the offshore funds named in Hindenburg Research’s August 10, 2024 report are not based in Mauritius.

The FSC stressed that it does not permit shell companies and emphasized that “IPE Plus Fund” and “IPE Plus Fund 1,” mentioned in the report, are neither registered with nor domiciled in Mauritius.

The FSC denied any links between the funds and the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disclaimer: This information is derived from Hindenburg’s X handle.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Official Statement from the SEBI Chief: Refuting Malicious Claims and Ensuring Integrity<\/a><\/blockquote>