New Delhi: In the wake of the fresh round of allegations made by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research, this time against SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch, multiple individuals took to social media platform X to explain how the report may have gone too far with its decision to show linkages between the SEBI boss and Adani Group whom it has earlier accused of financial irregularities.
Conflict of interest
X user Ajay Rotti raised conflict of interest concerns around the Hindenburg Research report citing a legal disclaimer which stated that readers should assume that the short seller “stands to realise significant gains in the event that the price of any security covered herein declines.”
Weak linkages
Another user, Bhagwaan Uvacha said the report operates on assumptions to establish a connection between the SEBI chief and Adani Group. In a long thread, they shared that Anil Ahuja is the CIO of IPEplus Fund 1, run by Global Dynamics Opportunities Fund, in which Vinod Adani invested money. This transaction has been used to link the Fund operator to Adani Group.
Ok. This is in my personal capacity, and with no prejudice I’m trying to understand the allegations made here. Caveat emptor, but happy to be corrected in a civil manner and with facts. Thread begins+ https://t.co/dpKMVlaOsu
— Office of Bhagwaan Uvacha (@BhagwaanUvacha) August 10, 2024
IPE Funds was managed by Ahuja for the company 360 One, which was involved in the Wirecard scandal. This was the second linkage drawn by Hindenburg Research. The X user rejected the depiction of Ahuja as a frontrunner for Adani Group citing his credentials as an indutry veteran with tenures in Citibank, JP Morgan Partners Asia, 3i Group and even HDFC Bank, apart from Adani Enterprises.
Uvacha said that it was wrong to link Ahuja to the Wirecard scandal since 360One, a $4.5 billion listed entity, caters to an array of investors. “Are all those clients also now linked to Wirecard by this logic?” Uvacha asked rhetorically. The thread further shows that SEBI chair Madhabi Puri Buch’s holdings in IPE Funds had been liquidated by 2018 and she even made a sight loss on it. It is unlikely that IPE only invested in Adani Group companies, the X user added.
Buch was free to diversify her holdings and choose to invest in an offshore fund, according to the X user, who added that Buch’s holdings in the fund were too minuscule to be able to distort Adani group companies’ share pricing. Uvacha added that it was wrong to question Dhaval Buch’s appointment by Blackstone REIT since he has sizeable experience as the Chief Procurement Officer for FMCG giant Unilever.
Conspiracy against India?
Criminal lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai said that there was no evidence of bribes being given to the SEBI chief and the report sensationalised routine investment instruments to create an impression of ill-gotten opaque wealth. Further, the report tries to “spin the illusion that the mere existence of an offshore entity implies that some criminal activity,” Dehadrai added.
He alleged that “there is a desperate cabal operating in India and abroad aiming to destabilise Indian markets” and overthrow the Indian government. X user Alok Bhatt supported the point made by Uvacha above adding that the report gave ammunition to the Opposition Congress to “help in its game.”
The new Hindenburg Research report may have spun a wider and thinner yarn in trying to link SEBi chief Madhabi Ouri Buch with the Adani Group, according to some social media users. Find out how. Biz News Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
