Buch issues fresh details, says Blackstone on her 'recusal list' with Sebi

Amidst allegations from Hindenburg, the couple stated that they never had exposure to Adani firms

Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), on Sunday clarified that Blackstone was on the ‘recusal list’ maintained by the market regulator, which implies she was not involved in decisions impacting Blackstone.

In a fresh statement, Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch provided additional details on their wealth, consultancy firms, associations, and investments in the alleged funds cited by Hindenburg Research.

They stated that the couple had “accrued their savings through their salaries, bonuses, and stock options” collected over their corporate careers spanning decades. While the Sebi chair has worked with financial services firms for over two decades, her husband was associated with Hindustan Unilever and parent Unilever for over 35 years.

“Insinuations that a handful of these matters related to the REIT industry were favours to any specific party are malicious and motivated,” said the couple in response to allegations of favouring Blackstone, a firm where Dhaval acts as an advisor.

They added that the regulatory decisions made by Sebi on REITs were approved by the board and not by the chairperson alone and followed the consultation process.

In their statement, they also clarified that Dhaval has never been associated with the real estate side of Blackstone and that his appointment at Blackstone Private Equity pre-dates Madhabi’s appointment as Sebi chairperson.

They added that their investments in the alleged funds were made as private citizens and almost two years before her appointment at Sebi.

“At no point in time did the fund invest in any bond, equity, or derivative of any Adani Group company,” they stated.

The decision to invest in the fund was made on the suggestion of their friend Anil Ahuja, who was the chief investment officer and an ex-employee of Citibank and JP Morgan.

The couple redeemed their investments in the fund when Ahuja left his position as the CIO of the fund, according to the statement.

Puri Buch also clarified that the two consulting companies set up by her during her stay in Singapore have been dormant since her appointment at Sebi and were part of her disclosures to the market regulator. Further, they were also disclosed to the tax authorities and Singapore authorities at the time of the change in shareholding to Dhaval.