Reacting sharply to the new Hindenburg Research report, Congress on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of a conspiracy to save his best friend in the name of investigation.

The Hindenburg report claimed involvement of SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) chief Madhabi Buch in the scam she was tasked to investigate.

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Following the report, the Opposition party renewed its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the matter. “The investigation of Adani mega scam was given to SEBI. Now, the news is that SEBI chief Madhabi Buch is also involved in the Adani mega scam. That means the person investigating the scam is himself involved in the scam. Isn’t it amazing?” the Congress stated in a press release.

The party went on to accuse Prime Minister Modi of deliberately obstructing a thorough investigation into the scam by refusing to form a JPC.

“It is clear that Narendra Modi has hatched a conspiracy to save his ‘best friend’ in the name of investigation. Only JPC can properly investigate this mega scam, but the Modi government is not ready to form a JPC. But for how long will Narendra Modi be able to protect Adani? One day or the other he will be caught,” the statement added.

Elaborating on the alleged irregularities surrounding SEBI’s investigation, Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “Under public pressure, after the Adani horse had bolted, SEBI’s board reintroduced stricter reporting rules on 28 June 2023. It told the Expert Committee on 25 August 2023 that it was investigating 13 suspicious transactions. Yet the investigations never bore fruit.”

According to the Hindenburg report, despite the evidence presented and corroborated by over 40 independent media investigations, the SEBI has not taken any significant public action against the Adani Group.

Ms Buch, the report suggested, didn’t take any action due to her “own complicity” in the alleged scam.

Citing whistleblower documents, Hindenburg Research claimed that the Buch and her husband were involved in the IPE Plus Fund, an offshore entity that has come under scrutiny.

It alleged that Gautam Adani’s brother, Vinod Adani, used the very same IPE Plus Fund as part of a complex structure involving multiple offshore funds to launder money.