Who is Dhaval Buch? SEBI chief’s husband under spotlight in Hindenburg report

Dhaval Buch News: On Saturday, US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research alleged that Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson of the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and her husband Dhaval Buch held stakes in an offshore fund with significant investments from Vinod Adani, brother of Gautam Adani.

These entities were allegedly involved in a network used by Vinod Adani to siphon money, raising questions about SEBI's impartiality due to potential conflicts of interest.

According to the Hindenburg report, on March 22, 2017, days before Madhabi Puri Buch’s appointment as SEBI chairperson, her husband contacted Mauritius fund administrator Trident Trust regarding their investment in the Global Dynamic Opportunities Fund (GDOF).


“In the letter, Dhaval Buch requested to 'be the sole person authorised to operate the Accounts', seemingly moving the assets out of his wife's name ahead of the politically sensitive appointment,” alleged the report.

Who is Dhaval Buch?

Dhaval Buch is currently a senior advisor at Blackstone and at Alvarez & Marsal, and also serves as a non-executive director on the Board of Gildan. He is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-D), where he graduated in mechanical engineering in 1984.

Previously, he served as executive director at Unilever and rose to become its Chief Procurement Officer. His LinkedIn profile describes him as having “deep experience in procurement and all aspects of the supply chain."

What did the Hindenburg research report claim

According to whistleblower documents cited by Hindenburg, Dhaval Buch's net worth is $10 million. The documents suggest that he was with Unilever when the alleged investments in Vinod Adani firms took place.


Additionally, the Hindenburg report mentions that during Dhaval Buch's tenure as a senior advisor at Blackstone, the company sponsored Mindspace and Nexus Select Trust, India’s second and fourth real estate investment trusts (REIT) to receive SEBI approval for public initial public offerings (IPO).