AAP’s Sanjay Singh Criticizes SEBI’s Adani Investigation, Calls for Supreme Court Action

New Delhi, India – Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh has criticized the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its investigation into the Adani Group, calling it “baseless and irrelevant.” He urged the Supreme Court to take action on the matter.

Singh’s comments follow allegations by US short-seller Hindenburg Research against SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch. According to Singh, SEBI’s investigation is flawed due to the involvement of Buch and her husband, Dhaval Buch, who allegedly invested nearly USD 10 million in the same dubious funds under investigation.

At a press conference, Singh stated, “The entire investigation by SEBI is baseless and irrelevant, and the information and report presented in the Supreme Court regarding Adani’s matters hold no significance. The Supreme Court should take note of this.”

He added, “The new Hindenburg report claims that SEBI Chief Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch invested nearly USD 10 million in the same dubious funds they were supposed to investigate. In other words, their money was invested in the very corruption they were supposed to be investigating.”

Singh explained that the Supreme Court had instructed SEBI to conduct the investigation, which began its probe and filed a report in May 2023. However, SEBI admitted that they are investigating 13 cases but do not know how far the investigation will go, describing it as directionless.

The Hindenburg report, released on August 10, alleged that SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband had stakes in the same obscure offshore entities involved in the Adani money siphoning scandal. Hindenburg Research accused the Buchs of character assassination in response.

Hindenburg’s report claimed that the Buchs’ investments were in the same Bermuda and Mauritius funds used by Vinod Adani, which were found in the complex structure of the scandal. The report is based on documents from a whistleblower and investigations by other entities.

In January 2023, Hindenburg published a report accusing the Adani Group of financial irregularities, leading to a significant drop in the company’s stock price. The group had rubbished these claims at the time. The Hindenburg report alleged stock manipulation and fraud by the conglomerate.

The case is related to allegations that Adani had inflated its share prices. After these allegations were published, there was a sharp fall in the shares of various Adani group companies’ stocks.

In January 2024, the Supreme Court refused 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 probe into two pending cases within three months. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court also dismissed a plea seeking to review the verdict that had sought an investigation by SEBI in the Adani-Hindenburg case.