By Nesil Staney
Anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal on Wednesday dismissed complaints against former Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch linked to the allegations levelled against her by US forensic research firm Hindenburg.
Hindenburg, which shut shop in January, had claimed in an August 2024 report that Buch and her husband held stakes in offshore funds linked to Adani Group through complex investment structures.
The claims are “untenable, unsubstantiated, and bordering on frivolity”, the Lokpal said.
The complaints were filed by Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and others on grounds of alleged impropriety and conflict of interest based on the research report.
The order issued noted that the claims were based on assumptions unsupported by verifiable evidence. It does not warrant an investigation under the Prevention of Corruption Act, it said.
Both Buch and her husband had denied the allegations. Lokpal had earlier sought oral hearings for Buch and her husband, which it clarified was procedural and not an expression of merit of complaints.
The Hindenburg report claimed that undisclosed interests could explain the SEBI’s reluctance to investigate Adani firms. The US-based defunct researcher had earlier published a report on Adani Group in January 2023. It accused the group of stock manipulation and accounting fraud and called it the largest con in corporate history. This triggered sharp losses in Adani firms. At the lowest, there was a $150-billion dent.
The report surfaced just before Gautam Adani finalised a $1.2-billion deal to acquire Haifa Seaport in Israel. SEBI had issued notices to the high-profile short-seller research outfit, accusing it of market manipulations. Hindenburg denied and claimed it as an attempt to silence critics.
Buch was the SEBI chairperson since March 2022 and was the first person to hold the position as a lateral hire. Tuhin Kanta Pandey was appointed the the markets regulator’s chief in February this year.
The Lokpal said the demand for corruption probe was solely politically motivated. Routine SEBI decisions have been recast as part of an alleged grand conspiracy involving the entire SEBI board and dozens of SEBI officers, it added.