The investigation against Madhabi Puri Buch, the Chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has found nothing incriminating against her, as reported by India Today citing government sources. The sources further added that she would complete her tenure which ends in February 2025.
It all started after a notorious US-based short-selling firm, Hindenburg Research published a hit piece against her. In its propaganda report, it leveled unsubstantiated allegations of conflict of interest and financial misconduct on the incumbent SEBI Chief.
Hindenburg had alleged that Buch may have undisclosed financial ties to the Adani Group, another Indian entity that had endured a hit piece by the short-selling firm, leading to a disruption and erosion of market capital in the Indian stock market.
Within no time, the Congress party picked up the mantle and furthered Hindenburg’s unsubstantiated claims demanding a probe and action against Buch.
Following Hindenburg’s attack, the grand old party had accused Buch of having ties with companies regulated by SEBI through her consulting firm, Agora Advisory Pvt Ltd. They alleged that she received large payments from these firms claiming that these allegations raise concerns about her impartiality.
While the modus operandi of Hindenburg is well-known, Buch faced scrutiny over allegations of conflict of interest and financial misconduct. But the government sources have now made it clear that the probe has not found anything “incriminating” against her.
Responding to the Hindenburg report, Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband, Dhaval Buch, said that the claims in the Hindenburg report were “groundless” and “without merit.”
They stressed that their financial records were transparent and dubbed the allegations as an effort aimed at “character assassination.”
Later in a detailed joint statement, the Buchs clarified that their investment in the fund, which Hindenburg claimed is linked to alleged “Adani stock manipulation,” was made two years before Madhabi joined SEBI.