THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Congress party has intensified its criticism of the Narendra Modi government following allegations by Hindenburg Research against SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch.
The investment research firm, known for exposing corporate fraud through activist short-selling, claimed that Buch and her husband had undisclosed investments in offshore funds located in Bermuda and Mauritius.
These funds are reportedly the same entities used by Vinod Adani, the elder brother of Gautam Adani, to manipulate stock prices by round-tripping funds.
AICC General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal described these allegations as extremely serious and accused the Prime Minister of shielding the Adani Group and its chairman, Gautam Adani.
He highlighted that the Supreme Court’s decision in the related case was based on SEBI’s report, yet SEBI Chairperson Buch and her husband allegedly did not disclose their investments in these offshore entities to the court.
Legal options
“It’s like the fence itself is eating the crop; even the Supreme Court was misled,” Venugopal stated. He further suggested that the Supreme Court should take up the case on its own initiative and mentioned that the Congress party would explore legal options to approach the top court on this matter.
Venugopal criticized the Prime Minister’s silence, arguing that it undermines credibility. He also accused the Union government of attempting to distract the public by using the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
“Don’t try to threaten Rahul Gandhi with an ED notice. We will strongly oppose such diversionary tactics,” Venugopal, who is also the MP from Alappuzha, warned.
He called the situation “the most serious issue in the country” and cautioned that if their demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe is not met, the Congress and the INDIA bloc would launch a strong nationwide protest.
Venugopal expressed shock over the Hindenburg report, emphasizing that the SEBI chairperson, who is responsible for regulating the stock market and ensuring its integrity, allegedly has investments in shell companies linked to the Adani Group.
Something to hide?
“Why is the government afraid of a Joint Parliamentary Committee? Doesn’t it suggest there’s something to hide?” he questioned.In response to Hindenburg’s allegations, Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband, Dhaval Buch, issued a joint statement on Sunday.
They claimed that the investments were made in 2015, well before Madhabi Puri Buch was appointed as a whole-time member of SEBI in 2017 and later elevated to chairperson in March 2022.
The couple stated that these investments were made when they were private citizens living in Singapore and that the funds became “dormant” upon her appointment to SEBI.
