Congress demands JPC probe into latest Hindenburg allegations, says SEBI chief must go

Ahmedabad: The Congress on Thursday stepped up its demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the latest allegations made by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research against the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson and the Adani Group.

Addressing a press conference here, All India Mahila Congress president and party spokesperson Alka Lamba sought to know why SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch has not resigned after a Hindenburg report released nearly two weeks ago levelled allegations of a conflict of interest against her.

The latest Hindenburg report has claimed the SEBI chief and her husband Dhaval Buch had stakes in obscure offshore funds used in the alleged Adani money siphoning scandal, inviting a strong rebuttal from them and the prominent business conglomerate.

"Our demand is that a JPC be formed to investigate the allegations. Such a committee should have members from all parties," Lamba said.

"The demand for a JPC investigation made by the Indian National Congress into the scam goes far beyond revelations made by Hindenburg Research's reports (first of which was released in early 2023)," she said.

"The Hindenburg allegations are limited to those that deal with capital markets - stock manipulation, accounting fraud, and a conflict of interest in regulatory agencies like the SEBI. Hindenburg allegations are only the tip of the iceberg. Only a JPC can investigate and unravel the true and full extent of the scam," the Congress spokesperson insisted.

Quoting from the report, Lamba attacked the SEBI chief and alleged impropriety on her part.

"It turns out the SEBI chairperson was invested in funds that are part of the same family of 360 ONE funds that Vinod Adani (brother of billionaire Gautam Adani) used to launder the proceeds of over invoiced power equipment to violate the very rules on ownership that the market regulator was supposedly investigating," she contended.

"A 2008 SEBI policy prohibits its officials from holding an office of profit, and/or receiving salary or professional fees from other professional activities. The current SEBI chairperson joined the regulator in 2017 and was appointed to the top position in March 2022," Lamba stated.

The Congress spokesperson alleged Puri Buch has violated the SEBI policy.

"During those years (2017-22), her consulting firm Agora Advisory Pvt Ltd, in which (Dhaval) Buch (her husband) has a 99 per cent shareholding, earned a revenue of Rs 3.71 crore ($4,42,025), according to public documents," she said.

"The chairperson, in her statement, said the consultancy firm had been disclosed to the SEBI and that her husband used it for his consulting business after retiring from Unilever in 2019. However, according to company records for the financial year ended March 2024, the SEBI chairperson still holds shares in the consulting firm. She was therefore possibly sharing in profits from the firm, which as noted previously, violates the SEBI's 2008 policy," Lamba argued.

The Congress leader declared her party will continue to protest till Puri Buch steps down as head of the market regulator.

"The questions asked by the Congress on the SEBI angle in the scam still remain unanswered. The Congress party wants to know despite facing serious allegations, why has the SEBI chairperson not resigned yet? We will continue our protest till she resigns," Lamba asserted.

"We also want to ask that in light of the new and very serious allegations, will the Supreme Court look into this matter suo motu (on its own)?" she said.

The SEBI chairperson and her husband have denied the allegations levelled against them as baseless and asserted their finances are an open book.

The Adani Group has also termed Hindenburg's latest allegations as malicious and manipulative of select public information, saying it has no commercial relationship with the SEBI chairperson or her husband.