“Instead Of Responding To SEBI, Hindenburg Attacked SEBI Chair; Allegations Are Rubbish”: Adv Mahesh Jethmalani

BJP Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani criticized Hindenburg Research for its recent allegations, accusing the US-based short seller of targeting SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch instead of responding to a notice from the market regulator.

In a post on X, Jethmalani stated, “Hindenburg’s ‘Something big’ is a pathetic damp squib. The announcement prior to its alleged big revelation itself reveals its motive: to destabilize India’s stock markets. The pre-publicity ill-behoves a reputed ‘research analyst.’ As regards the ‘big’ something, there is nothing new against the Adani group.”

Jethmalani argued that Hindenburg’s focus had shifted from the Adani Group to SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch. He pointed out that SEBI had rightfully issued a notice to Hindenburg seeking information about the circumstances surrounding the Adani short sale. Instead of complying with the show-cause notice, Hindenburg chose to attack Buch on the grounds of conflict of interest. Jethmalani dismissed these grounds as baseless, noting that further details would be revealed after Buch issues a detailed statement.

The senior advocate also called on the government to take serious action against those who aim to harm India’s economy. He described Hindenburg as “a US-based profiteer who made millions of dollars at the cost of Indian retail investors” and accused the firm of avoiding legitimate questions posed by the Indian regulator while defaming SEBI. He condemned what he described as “colonial arrogance” and criticized left-leaning media outlets for demanding Buch’s resignation, labeling them as “anti-nationals” seeking to disrupt India’s social and economic stability.

Previously, on July 19, Jethmalani had urged the government to investigate the connections between political figures criticizing the Adani Group after the Hindenburg report and China. He suggested that the report by Hindenburg, which targeted the Indian conglomerate, might have been motivated by Chinese interests.

Meanwhile, the Adani Group has also dismissed Hindenburg’s latest allegations, calling them “malicious, mischievous, and manipulative selections of publicly available information” aimed at profiteering without regard for facts and the law. In a statement on August 11, the Adani Group spokesperson rejected these allegations as recycled claims that had been thoroughly investigated, proven baseless, and dismissed by the Supreme Court in January 2024.

In response to Hindenburg’s claims about SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch and her husband having stakes in offshore entities involved in the Adani money siphoning scandal, Buch and her husband issued a joint statement rejecting the allegations. They accused Hindenburg Research of “character assassination” and stated, “Our life and finances are an open book. All disclosures as required have already been furnished to SEBI over the years. We have no hesitation in disclosing any and all financial documents, including those that relate to the period when we were strictly private citizens, to any and every authority that may seek them.”

Hindenburg’s report, published on August 10, alleged that Adani’s confidence in operating without serious regulatory intervention might be linked to his relationship with SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch. The report claimed that Buch and her husband had hidden stakes in offshore funds connected to the Adani Group.

This controversy follows Hindenburg’s January 2023 report accusing the Adani Group of financial irregularities, which caused a significant drop in the company’s stock price. The Adani Group denied these claims at the time.

In January 2024, the Supreme Court declined to transfer the probe into the allegations of stock price manipulation by the Adani Group to a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and directed SEBI to complete its investigation into two pending cases within three months. The Supreme Court also dismissed a plea seeking to review its decision and upheld SEBI’s role in the Adani-Hindenburg case.

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