In a groundbreaking allegation, Hindenburg Research released a fresh report, alleging that Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch had stake in obscure offshore entities used in the Adani scandal.
The new allegation came around 18 months after the Hindenburg claimed that the Adani Group had orchestrated the "largest con in corporate history", leading to a massive plunge in the conglomerate's market valuation.
FULL REPORT | SEBI chairperson Madhabi Buch had stake in offshore entities used in Adani scandal: Hindenburg Research
“Eighteen months after its damning report on Adani, SEBI has shown a surprising lack of interest in Adani's alleged undisclosed web of Mauritius and offshore shell entities,” it claimed in its new report.
Image source: Hindenburg report
"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 Hindenburg said, adding that it had not realised that the SEBI chaiperson and her husband Dhaval Buch had hidden stakes in the exact same obscure offshore Bermuda and Mauritius funds.
Dhaval Buch's net worth is $10 million, Hindustan Times said in a report quoting documents seen by Hindenburg. During Dhaval Buch's stint at Blackstone, the company sponsored Mindspace and Nexus Select Trust, India’s second and fourth REIT to receive SEBI approval to publicly float an IPO, the report added.
Who is Dhaval Buch?
According to his LinkedIn profile, Dhaval Buch is currently serving as a senior advisor at Blackstone and at Alvarez & Marsal. He also serves as a non-executive director on the Board of Gildan. Alvarez & Marsal's official website carries a profile of Buch, saying that their senior advisor got operational experience of over three decades across Asia, Africa, Russia and the United States. Supply chain planning, procurement, manufacturing, logistics and distribution are his areas of expertise, the website says.
"Mr. Buch earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology. He was a board member of Unilever Asia Private Limited and Hindustan Unilever and a chairman of Unilever Nepal," the website said.
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"Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Buch spent over 30 years with Unilever, where he most recently served as Chief Procurement Officer," it further said.
.jpg "Image source: Hindenburg report")
Image source: Hindenburg report
Dhaval Buch had worked with Unilever in Asia, Africa and Russia to lead manufacturing and logistics operations. He coordinated operations across 120 factories and 100 distribution centres, "produce and move five million tons of branded products; implement the global supply chain structure; and export $220 million in branded products over 20 countries," the profile on the A&V website further elaborated.
