Hindenburg vs SEBI chief: Madhabi Puri Buch's consulting firm shares address with its auditor, says report

A consultancy set up by Madhabi Buch before she became the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson is registered at the same address as its statutory auditor, reports said, raising fresh doubts about the past practices of the chief of India's market regulator. The firm came under scrutiny after the recent report by US-based short seller Hindenburg highlighted it as part of possible conflicts of interest on the part of Buch. 

The shared address issue was reported by Scroll website earlier this week citing the consulting firm's regulatory filings. The Scroll report, published on August 13, said the firm was identified as Agora Advisory Private Limited.

The Hindenburg report had alleged that Buch previously held investments in offshore funds also used by the Adani Group. The report said that Buch and her husband held stakes in an offshore fund where a substantial amount of money was invested by associates of Vinod Adani, brother of Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani.

Both the Buchs and the Adani group denied the allegations.

A look at the consulting firm
Citing documents with the Registrar of Companies, the Scroll report on Tuesday said that Agora Advisory Private Limited was incorporated on May 7, 2013, with Madhabi Buch as one of its two directors.

Buch at that point was based in Singapore. She also registered another firm Agora Partners Pte Ltd, in Singapore.

Agora Advisory Private Limited is located at 201, RNJ Corporate, Next to Samrat Hotel, Jawahar Road, Ghatkopar (East), Mumbai. This address was cited in the firm's latest balance sheets for the year 2023-24.