Hindenburg Report: SEBI Chair’s Indian Consulting Firm Earned Way More Money Than Her Disclosed Salary

The report citing whistleblower documents alleged that Buch owns a 99 per cent share in Agora Advisory, an Indian consulting entity, and the company earned nearly Rs 2 crore

The report revealed that while Buch owns the majority stake in the firm, her husband, Dhaval Buch, is a director in the entity. 

Source : PTI

In its allegations against SEBI Chairperson, Madhabi Puri Buch, US-based short seller, Hindenburg Research on Saturday said that the official earned much more than her disclosed salary via a majority stake in an Indian consulting firm. These allegations were denied by Buch and her husband, Dhaval Buch. 

The report citing whistleblower documents alleged that Buch owns a 99 per cent share in Agora Advisory, an Indian consulting entity, and the company earned nearly Rs 2 crore. 

The firm, Agora Advisory Private Limited, was established in India on May 7, 2013, the report revealed. It further said that consultancy is the main business activity listed by the firm.

The report revealed that while Buch owns the majority stake in the firm, her husband, Dhaval Buch, is a director in the entity. 

“Madhabi Buch Currently Has A 99% Stake In An Indian Consulting Business Called Agora Advisory, Where Her Husband Is A Director. In 2022, This Entity Reported $261,000 Revenue From Consulting, 4.4 Times Her Disclosed Salary At SEBI,” the report revealed. ABP LIVE could not independently verify the accuracy of the documents. 

The report claimed that Buch earned way more money via the consultancy firm than her previously disclosed salary as an official with the SEBI. “Unlike the opaque Singaporean consulting entity, we have more visibility into the Indian entity. At the end of financial year 2022, Agora Advisory (99% owned by Madhabi Buch), generated Rs 19.8 million ($261,000) revenue from consulting, per its annual report. This was 4.4 times Madhabi Buch’s previous disclosed salary as a Whole-Time member at SEBI,” it stated.

Responding to the allegations, Buch denied the claims made by Hindenburg and termed the allegations ‘baseless and insinuations’. The couple added that they have made all the necessary disclosures to the SEBI. They further said that they have no qualms in disclosing any financial documents required. 

Other Allegations

The report also alleged that Buch and her husband have offshore fund connections and the couple owned a stake in the same Bermuda and Mauritius funds used by Vinod Adani. Indian businessman and Adani Group head Gautam Adani’s brother was named in an earlier report by Hindenburg which claimed that funds were siphoned via these entities.

Further, the report claimed that under Buch’s leadership, the markets regulator introduced several revisions backing Real Estate Investment Trusts. During this period, her husband served as a senior advisor to Blackstone, which is a major investor in REITs. 

“During Industry Conferences, SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch Has Touted REITs As Her “Favourite Products For The Future” And Urged Investors To Look “Positively” Upon The Asset Class While Making Those Statements, She Omitted To Mention That Blackstone, Who Her Husband Advises, Stands To Gain Significantly From The Asset Class,” the report noted.