US short-seller Hindenburg‘s allegations against Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband of holding stakes in obscure offshore funds involving the Adani Group money siohoning scandal has sparked substantial amount of controversies, snowballing into a full-fledged political slugfest. Consequentially, the funds in question are under much scrutiny in the wake of the Hindenburg report.
Mauritius-based IPE Plus Fund 1, where Madhabi and her husband Dhaval Buch allegedly had stakes in as per the Hindenburg allegations, was part of an investment structure being probed by Sebi, according to an Indian Express report. Apart from investments made by Vinod Adani, the elder brother of Gautam Adani, IPE Plus Fund 1 has also been found to be a part of the investment structure used by two of the 13 overseas funds that the regulatory body was investigating for suspicious flow of funds into the Adani Group entities from 2016-17.
The report suggests that multiple sources which include the consortium of Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) have revealed that the current Sebi chief Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband’s 2015 investments are connected to the fund that had substantial investments from Vinod Adani.
A thorough examination of the intricate network of investments and funds further showed that Mauritius’ Trident Trust Company managed and administered Global Opportunities Fund, the parent fund of Global Dynamic Opportunities Fun – where Buch had invested in. Trident Trust Company is also the declared beneficial owner of the Emerging India Focus Fund and the EM Resurgent Fund- two among the 13 foreign entities that came under Sebi’s scrutiny.
Meanwhile, Hindenburg Research has now urged Buch to disclose all of the clients that her offshore Singaporean and Indian consulting firms handled. “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,” the US short-seller said in a statement.
Published 13 August 2024, 12:10 IST