SEBI Head Madhabi Puri Buch Should Resign: The Hindu Editorial

“Not since the Harshad Mehta scam of 1992 has India’s securities regulations and oversight come under such scrutiny,” observed an editorial titled, “Step down: On upholding the integrity of SEBI,” in The Hindu. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has come under fire after New York-based short-seller Hindenburg Research raised serious allegations against the SEBI chairman, Madhabi Puri Buch, and her husband, Dhaval Buch, related to the Adani Group.

The newspaper’s editorial piece highlights how “the stakes are much higher this time” with the Indian stock market being a $5.3 trillion financial powerhouse. “Over the years, SEBI has put in place robust systems of checks and balances that have constantly evolved to ensure that India’s securities market and financial system gained the reputation of being one of the most reliable globally,” it stated.

Read Also: Congress To Lead Nationwide Protest Demanding SEBI Head’s Removal On August 22

With the latest Hindenburg report levelling allegations against the head of SEBI in her conduct of the ongoing investigation against the Adani firm for purported stock manipulation and money-laundering activities, a shadow has been cast over SEBI’s reputation as a statutory regulatory body.

Investments made by the Buchs in obscure offshore funds based in two tax havens—Bermuda and Mauritius—where Gautam Adani’s brother Vinod Adani had allegedly also made investments raise doubts.

Additionally, a second conflict emerges over the couple’s Singapore-based consultancy firms, which Dhaval Buch has used to advise “prominent clients in the Indian industry” since 2019. The editorial emphasises how, though the Buchs claim the firms “went dormant immediately” after Ms. Buch became the head of SEBI, Hindenburg claimed that the firms were functioning and had made a revenue of nearly $3,00,000 between financial years 2022-24.

“This is an unprecedented case with wide ramifications where the Indian financial regulator’s top appointee is directly involved,” The Hindu stated.

SEBI has stated that 23 out of the 24 charges against the Adani group have been completed following an 18-month-long investigation over the stock market manipulation charges.

Although it remains unclear whether Ms. Buch wielded any influence over the investigation against the Adani Group, “the real issue is that there can be no room for any lingering doubts about her conduct.”

Read Also: “Buch’s Response Confirms Her Investment In Obscure Fund”: Hindenburg Responds

“It would be in the fitness of things for Ms. Buch to resign from her position to ensure a thorough investigation into the allegations against the Adani Group. After all, the integrity of India’s securities regulatory body itself is at stake,” highlighted The Hindu editorial.

Following the explosive allegations made by Hindenburg, the opposition has called for a nationwide protest on August 22. Demanding for the SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch’s removal and a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) inquiry on Adani and the Adani Group, Congress leader KC Venugopal stated yesterday that Enforcement Directorate (ED) offices in each state capital will be “gheraoed” as part of the protest.