Hindenburg Research has intensified its ongoing conflict with India’s stock market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), and its chairperson, Madhabi Puri Buch, by leveling new allegations of conflict of interest and financial impropriety related to the Adani Group. The US-based short-seller has been embroiled in a public dispute with the Adani conglomerate since January last year, when it published a report accusing the group of corporate misconduct and stock manipulation.
The latest accusations from Hindenburg came shortly after Sebi and Madhabi Buch, along with her husband, strongly denied allegations of leniency towards Gautam Adani and his companies. The Buchs issued a joint statement dismissing the claims as “baseless allegations and insinuations” with no basis in truth. However, Hindenburg has countered with fresh claims, citing whistleblower documents to bolster its position.
In a statement released on X (formerly Twitter), Hindenburg asserted that Madhabi Buch’s response to their report contained significant admissions and raised several new critical questions. The short-seller accused Buch of investing in a Bermuda/Mauritius fund structure that allegedly involved money siphoned by Vinod Adani, the brother of Gautam Adani. Hindenburg also claimed that the fund was managed by a childhood friend of Buch’s husband, who was an Adani director at the time. According to Hindenburg, Sebi, under Buch’s leadership, was responsible for investigating investment funds related to the Adani matter, which included funds that Buch herself was personally invested in. The firm argued that this situation represented a clear conflict of interest.
Further allegations from Hindenburg focused on Madhabi Buch’s alleged maintenance of active consulting firms while serving as Sebi chairperson. The short-seller questioned the transparency of Buch’s consulting businesses, which she had established during her time in Singapore. Hindenburg pointed out that one of these companies, Agora Advisory Limited (India), was still 99% owned by Buch and was generating revenue even as she oversaw investigations into the Adani Group. Additionally, Hindenburg accused Buch of using her personal email for business dealings conducted under her husband’s name while she was a Whole Time Member at Sebi.
Hindenburg’s statement called for greater transparency, urging Madhabi Buch to publicly disclose the full list of consulting clients and the details of engagements through her offshore Singaporean consulting firm, the Indian consulting firm, and any other entity in which she or her husband may have an interest. The short-seller also demanded a full, transparent, and public investigation into these issues.
In response, the Buchs, along with their associated firm, 360-One, denied any wrongdoing, asserting that the fund in question never invested in Adani securities. They maintained that the Buchs held only a minor stake in the fund and had no influence over its investment decisions. Sebi also defended its handling of the Adani-Hindenburg matter, stating that 23 out of 24 investigations were complete, with the final one nearing closure. The regulator attributed the lengthy investigation process to the complexities of enforcement procedures.
Sebi has also launched its own proceedings against Hindenburg Research, accusing the New York-based firm of making misleading disclosures to profit from short selling. As the dispute between Hindenburg and Sebi continues to escalate, the situation remains a focal point of controversy in the Indian financial markets.
