Following Hindenburg Research's allegations against SEBI Chairman Madhabi Buch, Congress on Sunday said the government must take immediate action to remove conflicts of interest in the regulator's probe of the Adani Group and reiterated its demand for a JPC inquiry into the entire matter.
The opposition also said the Supreme Court should acknowledge the “entire scam” and conduct an inquiry under its auspices, as investigative agency SEBI itself has been accused of being involved.
It also claimed that Bucher simply could not continue in her position after such “serious allegations” emerged.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had previously gone to the Supreme Court to acquit Adani after the Hindenburg report came to light in January 2023.
However, he said fresh allegations of “quid pro quo” involving SEBI chiefs have surfaced.
“The middle-class small and medium investors who invest their hard-earned money in the stock market need to be protected because they put their trust in SEBI. A joint parliamentary committee (JPC) inquiry is imperative to probe this massive scandal.
“Until then, concerns remain that Prime Minister Modi will continue to protect his allies, thereby damaging the constitutional institutions that India has painstakingly built over seven decades,” Haq said in a post on X.
US short seller Hindenburg Research on Saturday lashed out at markets regulator SEBI Chairman Madhabi Buch, claiming she and her husband held shares implicated in the Adani money-sucking scandal. Shares in offshore funds.
SEBI chairman Buch and her husband deny the allegations as baseless and insist their finances are public.
Adani Group said the latest accusations were malicious and based on the manipulation of certain public information. The company said it had no business relationship with the SEBI chairman or her husband.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a statement issued late on Saturday night and retweeted on People's attention, especially the SC's expert committee.
He said the committee took note of SEBI's dilution in 2018 and complete removal of reporting requirements related to ultimate beneficial (i.e. actual) ownership of foreign funds in 2019.
“This ties its hands,” Ramesh said, quoting experts. “The securities market regulator suspects wrongdoing but finds compliance with various provisions of the relevant regulations… It is this dichotomy that has led to SEBI's failure globally.” into a void'.
He said information disclosed by the Hindenburg Research Center on Saturday showed that Bucher and her husband invested in the same offshore fund in Bermuda and Mauritius, in which “Vinod Adani and his close associate Zhang Zhonglin And Nasser Ali Shaaban al-Ahli invested funds earned from high invoices in “electrical equipment”.
The funds are also believed to have been used to accumulate large stakes in Adani group companies, in violation of SEBI regulations. It is shocking that Buch has a financial stake in these funds,” Ramesh said.
The Congress leader said the news raised fresh questions about Gautam Adani's two consecutive meetings with Buch shortly after taking over as chairman of the stock market regulator in 2022.
“The government must act immediately to remove all conflicts of interest in the SEBI investigation into Adani. In fact, the apparent complicity of the country's top officials can only be elucidated by setting up a joint inquiry committee to investigate the full scope of the Adani mega-scam.” resolved,” the former federal minister said in a statement.
He said SEBI's Twitter account had been “locked” amid “evidence of conflicts of interest among its top leadership”. “This opacity raises questions as to whether the platform has been quietly deleting past announcements/press releases, which could lead to the involvement of the organization/its leadership in the Modani scam,” Ramesh said.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate asked Buch during a press conference whether she had held shares/equity in Agora Partners Singapore or Agora Partners India during her tenure as SEBI's whole-time director.
Shrinate asked if she had disclosed that equity and the income and income received.
“What entities provide business to Agora?” Will you transfer your Agora shares to your husband in 2022? Which entities continue to provide business to Agora Singapore or Agora India? Have you informed SEBI that your husband has joined Blackstone, the largest player in the REIT investment space? Shrine said.
“Before telling the Supreme Court that SEBI found nothing, did you inform the court-appointed committee or the Supreme Court that you or your husband had been investors in some of the funds you were asked to investigate?” Shrine said.
“Did you recuse yourself from the investigation? If not, why didn't you recuse yourself?” she said.
Shrinate asked if SEBI Chairman Buch can continue in her post following the allegations against her or if she should be removed from office immediately.
Shrinate raised questions with the government as to whether the alleged collusion between Adani and the SEBI chief could have happened without the protection of Prime Minister Modi.
She asked how Prime Minister Modi and the government felt about such accusations against their “own market regulator”.
(This report has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from associated news agency – PTI)
