Who is Dhaval Buch, SEBI chairperson’s husband named in Hindenburg report?
US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research on Saturday alleged that market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch held stakes in an offshore fund where a substantial amount of money was invested by Vinod Adani, brother of Gautam Adani.
According to the report, these entities were allegedly part of a network used by Vinod Adani to siphon money. Hindenburg has questioned SEBI’s partiality due to potential conflicts of interest.
The Hindenburg report alleged that on March 22, 2017, ahead of Madhabi Puri Buch being appointed the market regulator chairperson, her husband wrote to Mauritius fund administrator Trident Trust. The email was regarding his and his wife’s investment in the Global Dynamic Opportunities Fund (GDOF).
“In the letter, Dhaval Buch requested to “be the sole person authorised to operate the Accounts”, seemingly moving the assets out of his wife’s name ahead of the politically sensitive appointment,” it alleged.
Who is Dhaval Buch?
According to his LinkedIn profile, Dhaval Buch is currently a senior advisor at Blackstone and at Alvarez & Marsal. He also serves as a non-executive director on the Board of Gildan.
Buch is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-D) where he graduated in mechanical engineering in 1984.
He served as executive director at Unilever and also rose to become its Chief Procurement Officer.
As per his LinkedIn profile, Dhaval Buch described himself as having “deep experience in procurement and all aspects of the supply chain.”
According to whistleblower documents seen by Hindenburg, Dhaval Buch’s net worth is $10 million. He was with Unilever when the alleged investment in Vinod Adani firms occurred, according to the whistleblower documents cited by Hindenburg.
The report alleged that during Dhaval Buch’s stint as a senior advisor at Blackstone, the company sponsored Mindspace and Nexus Select Trust, India’s second and fourth REIT to receive SEBI approval to publicly float an IPO.