The new report of American short seller firm Hindenburg has brought a new twist in the allegations leveled against Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson of market regulator SEBI. In fact, the firm led by Nathan Anderson had also mentioned Mauritius while accusing the SEBI chief. Regarding this, the country’s Financial Service Commission (FSC) has categorically stated that Mauritius has nothing to do with the use of the fund mentioned in Hindenburg’s report.
A statement was issued by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Mauritius on Tuesday, the last trading day amid the Hindenburg-SEBI controversy. It said that Mauritius has no dealings with the offshore fund mentioned in the allegations against Hindenburg Research’s SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch, because our country does not allow shell companies to operate. According to the FSC statement, it has taken cognizance of the information given in the report published by American short seller Hindenburg Research on August 10, 2024, which shows ‘Mauritius-based shell companies’ and the country as a ‘Tax Haven.
According to a PTI report, the FSC has said that the Hindenburg report on the SEBI chief claimed that the IPE Plus Fund is a small offshore fund of Mauritius and IPE Plus Fund-1 is registered in Mauritius itself. But we want to make it clear that the IPE Plus Fund and IPE Plus Fund-1 are not linked to Mauritius and no license has been given to it in the country. The report said that Mauritius has a strong infrastructure for global business firms. All the companies that get a license from the FSC here have to follow all the rules under Section 71 of the Financial Services Commission Act and they are constantly monitored.
Hindenburg’s report released last Saturday claimed that whistleblower documents reveal that Madhabi Buch and her husband Dhawal Buch opened their account with IPE Plus Fund 1 in Singapore on June 5, 2015. The couple’s total investment in it is estimated at $10 million. Hindenburg alleged that the offshore Mauritius fund was set up by a director of the Adani Group through India Infoline and is registered in tax haven Mauritius.
Last year on 24 January 2023, Hindenburg has made these serious allegations against the SEBI chief and her husband 18 months after its research report on Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani. The report claims that SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhawal Buch took stakes in Bermuda and Mauritius funds and these two funds were also used by Gautam Adani’s elder brother Vinod Adani. But now, sidelining these allegations of Hindenburg, it has been made clear by Mauritius that these funds do not exist there and Mauritius has been recognized as a transparent jurisdiction and cannot be called a tax haven.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)