'If allegations true...' says veteran investor Marc Faber amid row over latest Hindenburg report

Following the Hindenburg research report alleging that Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch 'had a stake in ‘offshore entities used in Adani money siphoning scandal', veteran investor Marc Faber said that if allegations are true, the people involved in it must resign. 

Besides being an eminent investor, Marc Faber Faber is the publisher of ‘The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report’, which offers a contrarian perspective on global financial markets, economic conditions and more. 

He also emphasised that India's SEBI was formed to protect the interests of small investors. 

"India’s SEBI and the United States’ SEC were formed to protect the interests of small investors. They instead shield big businesses,” Marc Faber said adding that how the stock market moves is not always reflective of actual economic conditions.

The latest Hindenburg report, which claimed that "SEBI’s Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband, Dhaval Buch, had stake in obscure offshore entities used in Adani money siphoning scandal", has sparked a row in the country following which the stocks of the Adani group saw a decline on Monday. 

The Adani group denied the allegations terming it 'malicious, mischievous and manipulative'.

The Adani group, in an official statement, said, "The Adani Group has absolutely no commercial relationship with the individuals or matters mentioned in this calculated deliberate effort to malign our standing. We remain steadfastly committed to transparency and compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements".

In a similar move, Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch also released a joint statement claiming that the investment in the fund referred to in the Hindenburg report was made in 2015 when they were both private citizens living in Singapore, two years before the fomer joined SEBI.

“The investment in the fund referred to in the Hindenburg report was made in 2015 when they were both private citizens living in Singapore and almost 2 years before Madhabi joined Sebi, even as a Whole Time Member”, it said.

The joint statement further read, "SEBI has strong institutional mechanisms of disclosure and recusal norms as per the code of conduct applicable to its officers. Accordingly, all disclosures and recusals have been diligently followed, including disclosures of all securities held or subsequently transferred."

In response to the joint statement, the Hindenburg research again issued a statement claiming that "SEBI was tasked with investigating investment funds relating to the Adani matter, which would include funds Ms. Buch WAS PERSONALLY INVESTED IN and funds by the same sponsor which were specifically highlighted in our original report. This is obviously a massive conflict of interest."

SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch’s response to our report includes several important admissions and raises numerous new critical questions.

(1/x) https://t.co/Usk0V6e90K

— Hindenburg Research (@HindenburgRes) August 11, 2024

Back in January 2023, Hindenburg Research released a report titled, "Adani Group: How The World's 3rd Richest Man Is Pulling the Largest Con in Corporate History". However, the Adani group had denied the allegations claiming that the report was issued with the intention to 'bring down their share prices'.

In February 2023, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Supreme Court demanding a probe into the Hindenburg claims, following which, the top court entrusted SEBI with the responsibility to complete the probe of the allegations made in the report within two months.