The Mauritius Financial Services Commission (FSC), which is the country's regulator for the non-bank financial services sector and global business, has responded to the Hindenburg Research claims about Sebi Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch holding stakes in offshore fund linked to the Adani Group, pointing out that the fund is not registered in the country.
The FSC added that the country's legal framwork does not allow the creation of shell companies. The response comes after Hindenburg Research report released on August 10 mentioned 'Mauritius-based shell entities' and referred to the island nation as as a 'tax haven'.
FSC, in a statement, said that Hindenburg report refers to IPE Plus Fund as a small offshore Mauritius Fund and 'IPE Plus Fund 1 as a fund registered in Mauritius'. “We wish to clarify that IPE Plus Fund and IPE Plus Fund 1 are not licensees of the FSC and are not domiciled in Mauritius," it clarified.
The Hindenburg report said Sebi chief and her husband, Dhaval Buch, invested an undisclosed amount of money in a Mauritius-registered offshoot of a Bermuda-based fund through an account with a Singapore wealth management company.
The report had also claimed that an Adani director was operating this Mauritian offshoot while two Adani associates used its ultimate parent as vehicle to round-trip funds and inflate stock prices.
However, the FSC rejected the allegations about the fund being registered in the island nation.
Pointing out that Mauritius has a robust framework, it pointed out that all global companies licensed by the FSC have to meet substance requirements on an ongoing basis as per section 71 of the Financial Services Act.
FSC also said Mauritius cannot be termed as a tax haven as it has been rated as compliant with the standards of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the country does not have any harmful features in its tax regimes.
