SEBI Chief Buch Counters Hindenburg Allegations, Says Necessary Disclosures Made

The SEBI Chair issued a joint statement with her husband, Dhaval Buch, and gave a detailed response to the allegations made by Hindenburg Research in its latest report

In response to the allegations made by Hindenburg Research, SEBI Chair Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband, Dhaval Buch, have issued a detailed breakdown of these claims in a joint statement. 

The capital markets regulator head said that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has robust ‘institutional mechanisms of disclosure and recusal norms’ and the couple has followed these norms and made all the required disclosures. 

The statement explained, “The investment in the fund referred to in the Hindenburg report was made in 2015 when they were both private citizens living in Singapore and almost 2 years before Madhabi joined SEBI, even as a Whole Time Member. 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.”

Regarding Dhaval Buch’s appointment to Blackstone, the statement clarified that he joined the entity as a senior advisor due to his expertise in supply chain management. Further, the couple said that this appointment has been public knowledge and Dhaval has not been associated with the company's real estate assets.

Notably, the Hindenburg report alleged that during Dhaval’s involvement with Blackstone, SEBI brought in major regulation changes in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). This indirectly benefited the company which has been a major player in the industry, the report stated.

Buch and her husband in the statement added that they are addressing individual allegations levied against them by the Hindenburg report, while the claims made against the regulator itself would be addressed independently by SEBI.