New Delhi: The Congress on Monday rejected the Sebi statement about the latest Hindenburg report and demanded the Supreme Court hand over the probe into the US-based short-seller’s charges against the Adani group to a Special Investigation Team or CBI in view of the reported conflict of interest of the market regulator’s chief Madhabi Puri Buch.
“Clearly, no institution is sacrosanct in Amrit Kaal. Did the Sebi chairperson recuse herself from the Adani investigations? Do these conflicts of interest explain the prolonged investigation, a delay that has benefited both Adani and the Prime Minister while damaging Sebi’s reputation? How can a match proceed if the umpire herself is compromised? The Supreme Court, empowered by the Constitution, must transfer the investigation to the CBI or a Special Investigation Team given the likelihood of Sebi’s compromise. At a minimum, the Sebi Chairperson must resign to restore Sebi’s integrity,” said Jairam, Congress communication in-charge, in an official statement.
Mocking the Sebi seeking to project “an image of hyperactivity, stating that it has issued 100 summons, issued 1,100 letters and emails, and examined 300 documents containing 12,000 pages,” Ramesh said: “This must have been very exhausting, but it diverts attention from the core issues involved…the slow pace of these investigations (by Sebi), especially compared to the swift ‘justice’ that the Prime Minister’s investigative agencies usually deliver to opposition leaders, remains inexplicable. Moreover, recent revelations raise disturbing questions about Sebi’s integrity and conduct in investigating the Adani MegaScam. SEBI, long considered a trustworthy global financial market regulator, is now under scrutiny. It is shocking to discover that the Sebi chairperson and her husband invested in the same opaque Bermuda and Mauritius-based offshore funds where Vinod Adani and his close associates, Chang Chung-Ling and Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli, also invested.”
