New Delhi, Aug 11 (Reporter) The Hindenburg Research has kicked up a fresh controversy by claiming SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch has a stake in obscure offshore entities that had links with the Adani Group because of which no action was taken against the business conglomerate, a charge denied by the chief of the market regulatory body. However, the Opposition got a handle to attack the government as it demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the fresh charges made in the report by Hindenburg Research on Saturday. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said, "The integrity of SEBI, the securities regulator entrusted with safeguarding the wealth of small retail investors, has been gravely compromised by the allegations against its Chairperson." The Hindenburg report said, "Despite the existence of thousands of mainstream, reputable onshore Indian mutual fund products, an industry she now is responsible for regulating, documents show SEBI chairperson Madhabi Buch and her husband had stakes in a multi-layered offshore fund structure with miniscule assets, traversing known high-risk jurisdictions, overseen by a company with reported ties to the Wirecard scandal, in the same entity run by an Adani director and significantly used by Vinod Adani in the alleged Adani cash siphoning scandal.” Anticipating negative reaction in the stock market on Monday, the market regulator SEBI issued a statement and urged investors to remain “calm and exercise due diligence” before reacting to such report. The SEBI chairperson has strongly denied the allegations, terming it 'baseless and insinuation'. Buch said "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. Further, in the interest of complete transparency, we would be issuing a detailed statement in due course.” She further added, "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." Meanwhile, the main Opposition Congress has demanded immediate action by the government to eliminate all conflicts of interest in the SEBI investigation of Adani group. "The government must act immediately to eliminate all conflicts of interest in the SEBI investigation of Adani. The fact is that the seeming complicity of the highest officials of the land can only be resolved by setting up a JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) to investigate the full scope of the Adani Mega Scam," Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh said. Meanwhile, the Adani group rubbished the accusations made against it while calling them "malicious" and "mischievous". "The latest allegations by Hindenburg are malicious, mischievous and manipulative selections of publicly available information to arrive at pre-determined conclusions for personal profiteering with wanton disregard for facts and the law. We completely reject these allegations against the Adani Group which are a recycling of discredited claims that have been thoroughly investigated, proven to be baseless and already dismissed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in March 2023,"Adani Group said in a stock exchange filing. SEBI issued a statement saying, “It is emphasized that SEBI has adequate internal mechanisms for addressing issues relating to conflict of interest, which include disclosure framework and provision for recusal. It is noted that relevant disclosures required in terms of holdings of securities and their transfers have been made by the Chairperson from time to time. The Chairperson has also recused herself in matters involving potential conflicts of interest. SEBI, over the years, has built a robust regulatory framework that not only aligns with best global practices but also ensures protection of investors. SEBI remains committed to ensuring the integrity of India’s Capital markets and its orderly growth and development. “Investors should remain calm and exercise due diligence before reacting to such reports. Investors may also like to take note of the disclaimer in the report that states that readers should assume that Hindenburg Research may have short positions in the securities covered in the report,” SEBI statement added...////...