Hindenburg Report Aftermath: Adani Group Stocks Down By 4%, Market Takes Hit

Adani Group stocks fell by up to 4% after U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research claimed that SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband, Dhaval Buch, had interests in offshore funds based in Bermuda and Mauritius.

These funds were allegedly used by Gautam Adani's brother, Vinod Adani, to acquire and trade significant shares in the Adani Group.

In response to the allegations, Madhabi Puri Buch clarified that the investment in the fund referred to by Hindenburg was made in 2015, when she and her husband were private citizens living in Singapore, almost two years before she joined SEBI. She explained,

"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."

Buch also noted that the two consulting companies going dormant were "explicitly part of her disclosures to SEBI."

She added, "When the shareholding of the Singaporean entity moved to Dhaval, this was once again disclosed, not just to SEBI, but also to the Singaporean authorities and the Indian tax authorities."

Hindenburg responded to Buch's statement by claiming it "publicly confirms" her investment in the Bermuda/Mauritius fund structure "alongside money allegedly siphoned by Vinod Adani."

Hindenburg said that Buch admitted the fund was run by a childhood friend of her husband, who at that time was an Adani director.