Madhabi Buch maintained complete silence for weeks: Hindenburg on Congress' allegations against SEBI chief

Reacting to recent allegations by opposition Congress, New York headquartered Hindenburg Research on Wednesday said Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch has maintained her complete silence for weeks on all of the emerging issues.

"Buch has maintained her complete silence for weeks on all of the emerging issues," said the shortseller in a post on X.

In reaction, Hindenburg said "New allegations have emerged that the private consulting entity, 99% owned by SEBI Chair Madhabi Buch, accepted payments from multiple listed companies regulated by SEBI during her time as SEBI Whole-Time Member. The companies include: Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Dr. Reddy’s and Pidilite. These allegations apply to Buch's Indian consulting entity with no details thus far on Buch's Singapore-based consulting entity."


Read More: Madhabi Puri via Agora earned crores from M&M, ICICI, Dr. Reddy's & 3 other listed cos: Congress

Congress' allegations against Buch:
Earlier on Tuesday, Congress in a "shocking" set of "revelations" said, Buch and her husband earned crores of rupees from 6 listed companies including Mahindra and Mahindra.

Congress said, contrary to her claim that an advisory company owned by her became dormant when she took office, Agora Private Limited continued to provide services & generated revenue of Rs 2.95 crore between 2016-2024.

Read More: Explained: Who is behind Hindenburg Research and what is their allegation on Madhabi Puri Buch

Congress said that Agora clients include Mahindra and Mahindra Limited, Dr. Reddy’s, Pidilite, ICICI, Sembcorp, Visu Leasing & Finance, said Congress.

"Strangely, of the total Rs 2.95 Crores received by Agora Advisory Private Limited, 2.59 Crores has come from one entity alone - the Mahindra & Mahindra Group. It accounts for 88 per cent of the total money that Agora Advisory received."

Adding more, Congress said, "If this was not shocking enough, the SEBI Chairperson’s husband - Dhaval Buch received Rs 4.78 Crores as income in a personal capacity from the M&M. This is in addition to the Rs 2.95 crores received by ‘Agora Advisory Private Limited’ through its consultancy/advisory services."

What did Hindenburg allege?
Recently, US-based short seller Hindenburg Research made allegations against the SEBI chief by accusing her of conflict of interest. Last month, Hindenburg Research alleged that SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch had stakes in "both the obscure offshore entities used in the Adani money siphoning scandal." Hindenburg Research said it has made the new allegations based on documents provided by a whistleblower and investigations carried out by other entities.

Soon after, the SEBI Chairperson and her husband, in their personal capacity, issued a detailed statement rejecting the allegations.

Read More: Did Madhabi Puri & her husband earn crores from Mahindra & Mahindra? The group clarifies

Buchs statement
In the joint statement released to the media, the two said, "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. We 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."

(with agency inputs)