Congress has slammed SEBI over its refusal to disclose instances in RTI. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Congress has slammed SEBI’s (Securities and Exchange Board of India) refusal to disclose instances when its chairperson Madhabi Buch recused herself due to conflict of interest and said that this makes a “mockery” of public accountability and transparency.

The cases where Ms. Buch recused herself due to potential conflict of interest are not “readily” available and collating them would “disproportionately divert” its resources, the securities market regulator said in an RTI response on Friday.

Also Read: SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch invested in Chinese firms, alleges Congress 

In the response furnished to transparency activist Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd), the regulator also refused to provide copies of Ms. Buch’s declarations to the government and SEBI Board on the financial assets and equities held by her and her family members on the grounds of these being “personal information” and that their disclosure may “endanger” personal safety.

Reacting to the development, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, “The multiple conflicts of interest of the SEBI Chairperson that have been revealed so far are shocking in themselves. Now in a move that adds more fuel to the raging fire, SEBI has simply refused to divulge information to a RTI activist on instances of the SEBI Chairperson recusing herself on issues where there have been potential conflicts of interest.”

“This makes a mockery of public accountability and transparency as far as SEBI is concerned,” he said in a post on X late last night.

The SEBI has also denied to disclose the dates on which the disclosures were made. The SEBI Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) used the grounds of “personal information” and “safety” to deny a copy of those declarations.

“Since the information sought do not pertain to you and the same relates to personal information, the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest and may cause unwarranted invasion into the privacy of the individual and may also endanger the life or physical safety of the person(s). The same is, therefore, exempt in terms of Section 8(1)(g) and 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005,” the RTI response said.

“Further the information on cases where Madhabi Puri Buch recused herself due to potential conflicts of interest during her tenure is not readily available and collating the same will lead to disproportionately diverting the resources of the public authority in terms of Section 7(9) of the RTI Act,” it said.

Section 8(1)(g) allows a public authority to withhold information the disclosure of which would endanger the life and physical safety of any person, while section 8(1)(j) allows withholding information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest.

A press release from SEBI on August 11 claimed that the chairperson has recused herself in matters involving potential conflict of interest.

“It is noted that relevant disclosures required in terms of holdings of securities and their transfers have been made by the Chairperson from time to time,” it had said.

The US-based short seller Hindenburg Research had earlier alleged that it suspects SEBI’s unwillingness to act against the Adani group may be because Buch had stakes in offshore funds linked to the conglomerate.

The Congress has levelled several conflict of interest allegations against Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch. Buch and her husband since have dismissed the charges as “motivated.”

New Delhi:

In the Centre’s first reaction to the latest report released by Hindenburg Research, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju has said that the Congress and some of its allies want to destroy the country. The principal opposition party and others, he said, could not win the elections and are now aligning with anti-India forces.

On Saturday, Hindenburg Research, which is a US-based short-seller, released a report claiming that Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband, Dhaval, had a stake in offshore entities used in alleged financial wrongdoing by the Adani Group.

When he was asked about the report and the allegations made by the Congress, Mr Rijiju said on Monday, “We have to understand that there are many forces, both inside and outside the country, who are against India and work against it. We have to recognise them. The people who are playing games to hurt India’s ascent as an economic power… I feel that the Congress and some of its allies want to destroy the country. They could not defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi because the country is standing with him.”

“Elections have taken place and a new government has been formed under PM Modi. They could not win the elections and they are working with anti-India forces to ensure that India suffers a loss. They will never be successful because the people of India have realised who the anti-India forces are,” Mr Rijiju, who holds the Minority Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs portfolios, added. 

Earlier on Monday, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad took a similar stance and said the Congress is involved in creating economic instability and anarchy against India.

“After losing (the Lok Sabha elections) for a third time, the Congress and its closest ‘toolkit’ allies now want to make the Indian economy unstable. Congress today has developed hatred against India. What Congress wants is to bring back ‘control Raj'” Mr Prasad said.

The BJP leader also stressed that India is a safe, stable and promising market. 

‘Character Assassination’

Madhabi and Dhaval Buch have accused Hindenburg Research of attempting a character assassination of the SEBI chairperson.

“Hindenburg has been served a show cause notice for a variety of violations in India. It is unfortunate that instead of replying to the show cause notice, they have chosen to attack the credibility of SEBI and attempt character assassination of the SEBI Chairperson,” the couple said in a statement. 

The Adani Group has also said Hindenburg Research has made “recycled claims”.

“For a discredited short-seller under the scanner for several violations of Indian securities laws, Hindenburg’s allegations are no more than red herrings thrown by a desperate entity with total contempt for Indian laws,” the group said in an exchange filing.

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)

Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Reacting to the Buchs’ rebuttal of their report red-flagging their investments in obscure offshore funds linked to the Adani group and ownership of consulting firms in Singapore and India, Hindenburg Research in a series of posts on X said the clarification contains several important ‘admissions’, raises fresh questions and confirms a ‘massive conflict of interest’.

“Buch’s response now publicly confirms her investment in an obscure Bermuda/Mauritius fund structure, alongside money allegedly siphoned by Vinod Adani. She also confirmed the fund was run by a childhood friend of her husband, who at the time was an Adani director. SEBI was tasked with investigating investment funds relating to the Adani matter, which would include funds Ms. Buch was personally invested in and funds by the same sponsor which were specifically highlighted in our original report. This is obviously a massive conflict of interest,” the firm pointed out.

On Ms. Buch’s remarks that her husband used the consulting entities, starting in 2019 to transact with unnamed “prominent clients in the Indian industry”, Hindenburg asked if these included clients SEBI is tasked with regulating.

Pointing to the promise of a “commitment to complete transparency” in the SEBI chief’s joint statement with her spouse, Hindenburg Research asked if she will publicly release the “full list of consulting clients and details of the engagements, both through the offshore Singaporean consulting firm, the Indian consulting firm and any other entity she or her husband may have an interest in”.

U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research launched a broadside against market regulator SEBI chairperson Madhabi Buch, alleging she and her husband had stakes in obscure offshore funds used in the alleged Adani money siphoning scandal.

SEBI Chairman Buch and her husband have denied the allegations as baseless and asserted their finances are an open book.

The Adani Group termed the latest allegations malicious and based on manipulation of select public information. The company said it has no commercial relationship with SEBI chairperson or her husband.

SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch at SEBI Bhavan in Mumbai.
| Photo Credit: PTI

In its first comments following a new report by U.S.-based short seller Hindenburg Research, capital markets regulator SEBI on Sunday (August 11, 2024) said it has investigated all the allegations against the Adani group.

Chairperson Madhabi Buch made relevant disclosures from time to time and recused herself in matters involving potential conflicts of interest, the regulator said in a statement.

The regulator also said that it has duly investigated the allegations made by Hindenburg against Adani, and said that last of its 26 investigations is nearing completion now.

Earlier, Ms. Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch had termed the allegations baseless, and also said that the short-seller is attacking the credibility of the capital markets regulator, and also attempting a character assassination of the chairperson.

Hindenburg Research alleged that it suspects SEBI’s unwillingness to act against Adani group may be because Ms. Madhabi Buch had stakes in offshore funds linked to the conglomerate.