Congress seeks to set up Joint Parliamentary Committee to investigate ‘Modani Mega Scam’

New Delhi [India], August 12 (ANI): In light of allegations by the US-based short seller Hindenburg Research against Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Buch, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, on Monday, reiterated his demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the matter.

Responding to SEBI’s statement on the ongoing investigations into certain financial transactions of the Adani Group, Ramesh emphasized that “actions matter, not activities.”

His statement follows allegations by Hindenburg Research that SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch and her husband had stakes in obscure offshore funds tied to the alleged Adani money siphoning scandal.

“In its August 11, 2024 statement on the ongoing investigations into certain financial transactions of the Adani Group, SEBI has tried to project an image of hyperactivity, stating that it has issued 100 summons, sent 1,100 letters and emails, and examined 300 documents comprising 12,000 pages. This may seem exhaustive, but it diverts attention from the core issues at hand. Actions matter, not activities,” Ramesh stated in a letter posted on X.

He also referenced a letter he wrote on February 14, 2023, to the SEBI Chairperson urging the agency to fulfil its role as the steward of India’s financial markets, noting that he never received a reply.

“On February 14, 2023, I wrote to the SEBI Chairperson urging SEBI to ‘play its role as the steward of India’s financial markets on behalf of the crores of Indians who trust in the fairness of these markets.’ I never received a response. On March 3, 2023, the Supreme Court directed SEBI to ‘expeditiously conclude the investigation’ into allegations of stock manipulation and accounting fraud against the Adani Group within two months. Now, eighteen months later, SEBI has revealed that a critical investigation–likely concerning whether Adani violated Rule 19A relating to minimum public shareholding–remains incomplete,” he said.

Ramesh alleged that SEBI’s delayed investigation has allowed the Prime Minister to “navigate the election without addressing his role in facilitating his close friend’s illicit activities.”

“The reality is that SEBI’s apparent inability to close two of its 24 investigations has delayed the publication of its findings for over a year. This delay conveniently allowed the Prime Minister to navigate an entire general election without addressing his role in facilitating his close friend’s illicit activities,” he added.

“Despite the Adani Group’s claims of receiving a ‘clean chit,’ SEBI has reportedly issued show-cause notices to several Adani companies regarding these allegations. However, the slow pace of these investigations, especially compared to the swift ‘justice’ typically delivered by the Prime Minister’s investigative agencies to opposition leaders, is inexplicable. Furthermore, recent revelations raise disturbing questions about SEBI’s integrity and conduct in investigating the Adani MegaScam,” he continued.

Ramesh further asserted, “SEBI, long regarded as a trustworthy global financial market regulator, is now under scrutiny. It is shocking to learn that the SEBI Chairperson and her husband invested in the same opaque Bermuda- and Mauritius-based offshore funds where Vinod Adani and his close associates, Chang Chung-Ling and Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli, also invested. These funds were managed by Anil Ahuja, a close friend of the Buchs and an independent director at Adani Enterprises until May 31, 2017, a period that overlapped with the SEBI Chairperson’s earlier tenure as a Whole-Time Member of SEBI.”

“The notion that the SEBI Chairperson and her husband had separated their finances has been shattered by the revelation that after joining SEBI, she transacted in the fund from her personal email account on February 25, 2018. Ironically, these funds are part of the same vehicles (Global Opportunities Fund and Global Dynamic Opportunities Fund) that Chang and Ahli reportedly used to bypass Rule 19A, the very violation SEBI is currently investigating. While 360 ONE, the fund manager, claimed that the IPE Plus 1 Fund made no investments in the Adani Group, it remains silent on whether Vinod Adani, Chang, or Ahli were investors in that fund alongside the Buchs. It also fails to clarify the connections between the Global Opportunities Fund, the Global Dynamic Opportunities Fund, and the IPE Plus 1 Fund,” he added.

Ramesh called on the Supreme Court to transfer the investigation to the CBI or a Special Investigation Team (SIT), given the likelihood of SEBI’s compromise and demanded the SEBI Chairperson’s resignation to restore the agency’s integrity.

“Clearly, no institution is sacrosanct in Amrit Kaal. Did the SEBI Chairperson recuse herself from the Adani investigations? Do these conflicts of interest explain the prolonged investigation, a delay that has benefited both Adani and the Prime Minister while damaging SEBI’s reputation? How can a match proceed if the umpire herself is compromised? The Supreme Court, empowered by the Constitution, must transfer the investigation to the CBI or a Special Investigation Team (SIT) given the likelihood of SEBI’s compromise,” he said.

“At a minimum, the SEBI Chairperson must resign to restore SEBI’s integrity. However, the Adani Mega Scam extends beyond the 24 matters under SEBI’s investigation. It involves the source of the Rs 20,000 crore benami funds invested in the Adani Group, the over-invoicing of thousands of crores in coal and power equipment, and the laundering of those proceeds,” he added.

“Additionally, it involves the granting of monopolies to the Adani Group in critical infrastructure sectors and the manipulation of Indian foreign policy to secure Adani assets in neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, which are proving to be highly controversial. The path forward is to immediately convene a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to investigate the full extent of the Modani MegaScam involving the self-anointed non-biological PM and a perfectly biological businessman,” the Congress leader concluded.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal criticised the Hindenburg report, suggesting that certain people or countries aiming to stall India’s development are behind such reports.

“India has seen rapid development over the last 10 years. Some individuals or countries who want to stall India’s progress get such reports published,” he stated.

However, SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch and her husband, in a press release, rejected the allegations by Hindenburg as baseless and malicious, asserting that the accusations were an attempt at “character assassination.”

In a joint statement to the media, they said, “Our life and finances are an open book. All required disclosures have already been furnished to SEBI over the years.

We have no hesitation in disclosing any and all financial documents, including those from the period when we were private citizens, to any authority that may seek them. It is unfortunate that Hindenburg Research, against whom SEBI has taken enforcement action and issued a show cause notice, has chosen to attempt character assassination in response.”

The Supreme Court has given a clean chit to the Adani Group. In January 2024, the apex court refused to transfer the probe into allegations by Hindenburg of stock price manipulation by the Adani Group to an SIT and directed SEBI to complete its probe into two pending cases within three months.

In June this year, the Supreme Court also dismissed a plea seeking to review its earlier verdict in the Adani-Hindenburg case.