SEBI chief rebuts Hindenburg charges, calls it ‘character assassination attempt’

Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch have strongly denied the allegation levelled by Hindenburg Research against them, calling it a “character assassination attempt” because an Enforcement action and show cause notice was issued to the Nate Anderson-led company last month.

The markets regulator last month said that Hindenburg and Anderson violated regulations under ‘SEBI’s Prevention of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices' regulations, and 'SEBI's Code of Conduct for Research Analyst' regulations.

According to the joint statement issued by the couple, “In the context of allegations made in the Hindenburg Report dated August 10, 2024, against us, we would like to state that we strongly deny the baseless allegations and insinuations made in the report”.

“The same are devoid of any truth. 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,” read the joint statement.

"Further, in the interest of complete transparency, we would be issuing a detailed statement in due course,” they added.

The statement also said, “It is unfortunate that Hindenburg Research against whom SEBI has taken an Enforcement action and issued a show cause notice has chosen to attempt character assassination in response to the same”.

The markets regulator has also accused Hindenburg of making "unfair" profits through collusion, using non-public and misleading information to induce panic selling.

Short-sellers like Hindenburg Research could find themselves in hot water, as even the US market regulator, the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), has been tightening its grip.

In late July, the US capital markets regulator had announced action against short-selling firm Citron Capital and its head Andrew Left, for alleged ill-gotten gains.