Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chief Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch accused US-based Hindenburg Research of attacking the market regulator and attempting “character assassination” of its chief.
In a detailed statement, the Buchs countered the report which accused them of owning stakes in obscure offshore funds used in the Adani money siphoning scandal.
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Here are key points highlighted by the SEBI chief and her husband in their statement:-
1. According to the statement, Madhabi Buch is an alumna of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad and has had a corporate career of over two decades in banking and financial services. Her husband Dhaval Buch is an alumnus of IIT Delhi and has had a corporate career of 35 years in Hindustan Unilever in India and then in Unilever globally as part of its senior management team, the statement read.
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2. In its statement, the SEBI chief said that the investment in the fund referred to in the Hindenburg report was made in 2015 when the duo happened to be private citizens living in Singapore and almost two years before Madhabi Puri Buch joined SEBI, even as a whole time member.
3. “The decision to invest in this fund was because the Chief Investment Officer, Anil Ahuja, is Dhaval’s childhood friend from school and IIT Delhi and, being an ex-employee of Citibank, JP Morgan and 3i Group plc, had many decades of strong investing career. 1. As confirmed by Anil Ahuja, at no point in time did the fund invest in any bond, equity, or derivative of any Adani group company,” the statement added.
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4. In their statement, the Buchs said that Dhaval’s appointment in 2019 as a senior advisor to Blackstone Private Equity “was on account of his deep expertise in Supply Chain Management.” His appointment pre-dates his wife’s appointment as the SEBI chairperson, the statement added.
5. On Dhaval Buch’s appointment, the Blackstone Group was immediately added to his wife Madhabi’s recusal list maintained by SEBI, the couple said.
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6. Madhabi Buch said that the markets regulator has issued more than 300 circulars and all the regulations of SEBI are approved by its board (and not the chairperson) after extensive public consultations.
“Insinuations that a handful of these matters related to the REIT industry were favours to any specific party are malicious and motivated,” the statement said.
7. Madhabi Buch said that the two consultation firms set up by her during her stay in Singapore “became immediately dormant on her appointment with SEBI, These companies (and her shareholding in them) were explicitly part of her disclosures with SEBI.”
8. After his retirement from Unilever in 2019, Dhaval Buch started his own consultancy practice through these companies, the statement said. “Dhaval’s deep expertise in Supply Chain allowed him to work with prominent clients in the Indian industry. Thus, linking accruals in these companies to Madhabi’s current government salary is malicious,” the statement added.
9. “Hindenburg has been served a show cause notice for a variety of violations in India. It is unfortunate that instead of replying to the Show Cause Notice, they have chosen to attack the credibility of the SEBI and attempt character assassination of the SEBI Chairperson,” the statement said.
10. “SEBI has strong institutional mechanisms of disclosure and recusal norms as per the code of conduct applicable to its officers. Accordingly, all disclosures and recusals have been diligently followed, including disclosures of all securities held or subsequently transferred,” the statement said.