Now we know why our letters to SEBI chief seeking details on Adani Group went unanswered: Sena (UBT) leader

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi had sought details of the probe against Adani group of companies in April last year. File pic

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Saturday said it was now clear why Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) did not answer her letters seeking details of Adani group companies.

She was reacting to United States (US) short-seller Hindenburg Research's claim that SEBI chairperson Madhabi Buch and her husband had stakes in the obscure offshore funds used in the alleged Adani money siphoning scandal.

Chaturvedi had sought details of the probe against Adani group of companies in last year in April.

"Now we know why our letters went unanswered and unacknowledged," she said in her reaction.

Shiv Sena UBT spokesperson Anand Dubey said the Hindenburg Research's report suggests the involvement of SEBI chief in the matter.

"Now the question is who will investigate the matter. The way the Parliament session was concluded...there is a sense that something is wrong," Dubey said.

In a blogpost, Hindenburg said 18 months since its damning report on Adani, "SEBI has shown a surprising lack of interest in Adani's alleged undisclosed web of Mauritius and offshore shell entities."

Citing "whistleblower documents", it said, "Madhabi Buch, the current chairperson Of SEBI, and her husband had stakes in both obscure offshore funds used in the Adani money siphoning scandal."

On Saturday, Hindenburg published a report that stated, "We had previously noted Adani's total confidence in continuing to operate without the risk of serious regulatory intervention, suggesting that this may be explained through his relationship with SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch. What we hadn't realised: the current SEBI Chairperson and her husband Dhaval Buch had hidden stakes in the exact same obscure offshore Bermuda and Mauritius funds, found in the same complex nested structure, used by Vinod Adani."

"Madhabi Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch first appear to have opened their account with IPE Plus Fund 1 on June 5, 2015, in Singapore, per whistleblower documents. A declaration of funds, signed by a principal at IIFL states that the source of the investment is "salary" and the couple's net worth is estimated at USD 10 million," the report stated.

In January 2023, Hindenburg published a report accusing the Adani Group of financial irregularities, leading to a significant drop in the company's stock price. The group at the time had rubbished these claims.

(With PTI inputs)