Who is Dhaval Buch? Sebi chief's husband named in Hindenburg report

Dhaval Buch's association with PE major Blackstone not on real estate side, clarifies couple

Dhaval Buch, husband of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, has come into the spotlight after the latest Hindenburg Research report claimed the couple had investments in the same offshore entities that were allegedly to inflate Adani group stock prices.

An alumnus of IIT Delhi, Dhaval is a senior advisor at private equity (PE) major Blackstone and consultancy firm Alvarez & Marsal. He is also a non-executive director at sports apparel brand Gildan. His corporate career spans over three decades, mainly at consumer goods major Unilever in India, UK and Singapore. He last served there as chief procurement officer.

 

In 2013, the power couple set up a financial services consultancy in Singapore, Agora Advisory. It was aimed at supporting impact businesses through incubation, investment and consulting.

The same year, Madhabi, an IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, also moved to Singapore after a two-decade stint in the banking and financial services industry, largely at the ICICI Group.

She signed off from the group as chief executive officer (CEO) at investment banking and broking outfit ICICI Securities.

According to Hindenburg Research, Agora Partners was registered on March 27, 2013, in Singapore with Madhabi initially holding the entire 100 per cent shareholding.

In March 2022, she transferred the entire holding to her husband, according to a public disclosure by the US-based short seller.

In a statement, issued in their personal capacity, the couple has said the shareholding transfer was disclosed to Sebi, Singapore authorities as well as the Indian tax authorities.

Hindenburg Research noted that Agora is exempt from disclosing financial statements, making it unclear how much revenue it generates and from whom.

Madhabi has clarified that Agora became dormant after her appointment with Sebi and this was explicitly part of her disclosures to the regulator.

Hindenburg's report alleges Dhaval’s appointment as senior advisor at Blackstone PE in 2019 was unusual, given his lack of experience in capital markets or real estate.

The couple has clarified that Dhaval’s appointment as a senior advisor at Blackstone in 2019 pre-dates Madhabi’s appointment as Sebi chief in 2022.

Further, Dhaval’s association is mainly on the supply chain management, where he has deep expertise and not on the real estate side of the PE major.

The US-based short seller claims that Blackstone benefited indirectly from Sebi’s regulatory changes in the Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) market, including those made during Dhaval’s tenure as advisor.

Hindenburg has highlighted how the Sebi chief has urged investors to look at the Reit asset class “positively” but “omitted to mention that Blackstone, who her husband advises, stands to gain significantly from the asset class.”

“Over the last two years, Sebi has issued more than 300 circulars across the entire market ecosystem…after extensive public consultation. Insinuations that a handful of these matters related to the Reit industry were favours to any specific party are malicious and motivated,” the couple have said.