Former SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch gets clean chit from Lokpal; No credible evidence from complainants

NEW DELHI: The Lokpal of India has dismissed all three complaints against former Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch in a case of alleged corruption against her and termed the allegations against her as “vexatious, frivolous and politically motivated attempts” to sensationalise regulatory matters.

The complaints alleged corruption and quid pro quo involving the former SEBI chief and the Adani Group. The Lokpal, in its findings, stated that it found “no credible evidence” of any “undue advantage” or “quid pro quo”. The findings further said that SEBI’s processes, including investigations involving Adani and others, were upheld by the Supreme Court and handled by independent institutional mechanisms.

The Lokpal asserted that the past investments and consultancy incomes were adequately disclosed, legitimate and outside the scope of corruption statutes and the report of Hindenburg, a known short-seller, was not deemed reliable or sufficient to base a corruption case. The Lokpal order affirms that the allegations of regulatory favouritism involving the Adani Group were “completely baseless.”

In its order, the Lokpal viewed the Hindenburg Report as an “unreliable” and “partisan” document authored by a known short-seller. In its report published in August 2024, US-based short seller Hindenburg Research made allegations against Madhavi Puri Buch, accusing her of a conflict of interest.

Hindenburg Research had also alleged that then SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch had stakes in “both the obscure offshore entities used in the Adani money siphoning scandal”. SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch had termed the allegations labelled against them as “false, incorrect, malicious and motivated”.

The Adani Group had also termed the allegations as malicious, mischievous, and manipulative selections of publicly available information to arrive at pre-determined conclusions for “personal profiteering with wanton disregard for facts and the law.”

It is publicly known that Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra and former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur had filed complaints with the Lokpal, seeking a probe into the former SEBI chief’s case. (ANI)