Drawing on the Latin phrase “Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes” from the Roman poet Juvenal’s ‘Satires,’ Congress party questioned SEBI’s unusual hesitation to probe the Adani MegaScam. This criticism came on Saturday after a new report from US short-seller Hindenburg Research made allegations against SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband.
Congress General Secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh, on Saturday, took to X to post “Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes” in the party’s statement “on the latest Hindenburg revelations.”
The US-based firm on Saturday, alleged that Buch and her husband had a stake in “both the obscure offshore entities used in the Adani money siphoning scandal.” Congress has demanded that the government “act immediately to eliminate all conflicts of interest in the SEBI investigation of Adani.” The party argued that “the seeming complicity of the highest officials of the land can only be resolved by setting up a JPC [Joint Parliamentary Committee] to investigate.” Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra also took to X, posting, “In true Adani style – even SEBI Chairman is investor in his group. Crony Capitalism at its finest. @CBiHeadquarters&@Dir_ED – will you be filing POCA and PMLA cases or not?”
After releasing a teaser on the morning of August 10, suggesting a major revelation concerning India, Hindenburg published a report by the end of the day that stated, “We had previously noted Adani’s total confidence in continuing to operate without the risk of serious regulatory intervention, suggesting that this may be explained through Adani’s relationship with SEBI Chairperson, Madhabi Buch.” The report further stated, “What we hadn’t realized: the current SEBI Chairperson and her husband, Dhaval Buch, had hidden stakes in the exact same obscure offshore Bermuda and Mauritius funds, found in the same complex nested structure, used by Vinod Adani.” Hindenburg Research posted a link for the entire report on its X account. “New from us,” read the tweet, adding “Whistleblower Documents Reveal SEBI’s Chairperson Had Stake In Obscure Offshore Entities Used In Adani Money Siphoning Scandal.”
Hindenburg Research asserted that the new allegations were based on documents supplied by a whistleblower and investigations conducted by other parties. The report stated, “Madhabi Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch first appear to have opened their account with IPE Plus Fund 1 on June 5, 2015 in Singapore, per whistleblower documents. A declaration of funds, signed by a principal at IIFL states that the source of the investment is “salary” and the couple’s net worth is estimated at USD 10 million.”
In January 2023, Hindenburg Research released a report accusing the Adani Group of financial misconduct, which caused a substantial decline in the company’s stock price. At that time, the Adani Group dismissed these allegations. The earlier Hindenburg report had claimed that the conglomerate engaged in stock manipulation and fraud, specifically alleging that Adani had inflated its share prices. Following the publication of these allegations, the stocks of various Adani group companies fell sharply, with losses reportedly exceeding USD 100 billion. The January report from the US short seller came just two days before Adani Enterprises was set to launch a USD 2.5 billion follow-up public offering. Adani Group has consistently denied all the claims made in the Hindenburg Research reports.