NOT MUCH MEAT IN HINDEN BURGER

SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch have refuted US-based short-seller Hindenburg's allegations and asserted that their investment in the fund, which the short-seller claimed is linked to the alleged "Adani stock manipulation", was made two years before Madhabi joined Sebi as a whole-time member.

Also, this investment was made "when they were both private citizens living in Singapore."

Hindenburg on Saturday night released a fresh report alleging that it suspects Sebi's unwillingness to act against the Adani Group may be because its head Madhabi Buch had stakes in offshore funds linked to the conglomerate,

The couple also dubbed the allegations as a "character assassination attempt" which they ascribed to a show cause notice served on Hindenburg for a variety of violations in India. It is unfortunate that instead of replying to the show cause notice, they have chosen to attack the credibility of the SEBI and its chairperson, the statement said.

Explaining the rationale for investing in the fund referred to in the Hindenburg report, the couple put out a detailed statement. It said: "The decision to invest in this fund was because the Chief Investment Officer, Anil Ahuja, is Dhaval's childhood friend from school and IIT Delhi and, being an exemployee of Citibank, J.P.