Following fresh claims by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research, which allegedly connect the chief of the securities market regulator, Madhabi Buch, and her husband to offshore funds linked to the Adani Group, a fresh plea has been filed in the Supreme Court. The plea seeks the completion of SEBI’s investigation into pending cases relating to the Adani group’s alleged manipulation of its companies’ share prices to inflate their stock market values.
In 2023, following the Supreme Court’s intervention, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) began investigating 24 cases in response to Hindenburg Research’s report of January 24, 2023. According to petitioner advocate Vishal Tiwari, the probe into 22 of these cases has been completed, but the outcomes of the investigations into the remaining two cases are still not known.
The fresh plea has stated that in light of the recent Hindenburg report, it is imperative for SEBI to conclude the pending investigations and make its findings public.
The SEBI chief has already denied the allegations in the Hindenburg report as baseless.
Petitioner advocate Vishal Tiwari has said that the Hindenburg Research report, published on August 10, cited ‘whistleblower documents’ to support its allegation that the SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch and her husband were involved with offshore Bermuda and Mauritius funds allegedly controlled by Vinod Adani, the elder brother of Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani.
“These funds are believed to have been used for round-tripping funds and inflating stock prices,” the petitioner’s lawyer said, citing the Hindenburg Research report.
Seeking the completion of the investigation into the two pending cases, advocate Vishal Tiwari’s petition says that the latest allegations in the Hindenburg report have ‘created an atmosphere of doubt in the minds of the public and investors’.
The plea by Tiwari says, “Despite the SEBI chief denying the allegations as baseless and the top court ruling that third-party reports cannot be considered, this situation has created an atmosphere of doubt among the public and investors. In these circumstances, it is incumbent upon SEBI to conclude the pending investigations and declare their findings.”
“In a blog post, Hindenburg claimed that 18 months after its initial report on Adani, the Securities and Exchange Board of India has shown a ‘surprising lack of interest’ in investigating Adani’s alleged web of undisclosed Mauritius and offshore shell entities. Citing whistleblower documents, Hindenburg alleged that SEBI Chairperson and her husband were involved with the same offshore Bermuda and Mauritius funds allegedly controlled by Vinod Adani, the elder brother of Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani,” the petition by advocate Tiwari reads.
In his appeal, the petitioner advocate has complained about the alleged refusal of the Supreme Court Registrar to register his miscellaneous application related to a matter that was disposed of last year.
Moving a fresh plea, advocate Tiwari has urged the top court to allow his appeal against the August 5, 2024 lodgement order of the Registrar and direct the registry to register the miscellaneous application.
The petitioner said that the conclusion drawn by the Registrar is contrary to the direction given by the court in an order dated January 3, 2024.
“The top court has fixed the timeline of three months for the completion of investigations by the SEBI. By using the word ‘preferably’ it cannot be understood that no timeline was fixed. When specifically, three months have been mentioned in the order, it is sufficient to be understood as prudent that a fixed period is laid down for the completion of the pending investigations,” Advocate Tiwari said.