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Journalism of Courage
Mauritius-based IPE Plus Fund 1, which is at the centre of the controversy surrounding SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch, not only had investments by Vinod Adani, elder brother of industrialist Gautam Adani, but was also part of the investment structure used by two of the 13 overseas funds being probed by the market regulator for opaque fund flows into Adani Group companies since 2016-17.
Information from multiple sources, including corporate records accessed by The Indian Express, the consortium of Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and additional information made available by US-based Hindenburg Research, show that the investments by Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband in 2015, are clearly linked to the fund which had significant investments by Vinod Adani.
A scrutiny of the web of funds and investments also reveals that the parent fund (Global Opportunities Fund) of the sub-fund (Global Dynamic Opportunities Fund) where Buch invested, was administered by Trident Trust Company (Mauritius) — the declared beneficial owner of Emerging India Focus Fund and EM Resurgent Fund that were part of the 13 overseas entities under Sebi lens.
The period under investigation (at least since 2016-17) of the two funds in question — Emerging India Focus Fund and EM Resurgent Fund — overlaps with the period (2015-2018) of investment in IPE Plus Fund 1 by Buch and her husband. SEBI started the investigation in October 2020 when Buch was a Whole-Time Member.
In March 2017, days before Madhabi Puri Buch became a SEBI member, Dhaval Buch became the sole person authorised to operate their fund account IPE Plus Fund 1. In February 2018, Madhabi Puri Buch instructed the fund manager to redeem their entire investment.
With approximately $522.2 million in assets, Global Dynamic Opportunities Fund Limited (Bermuda) is a hedge fund operated by IIFL Capital Pte Ltd (360 One) which also manages IPE Plus Fund.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Madhabi Puri Buch said, “When, in 2018, Mr Ahuja, left his position as CIO of the fund, we redeemed the investment in that fund.” Ahuja was the CIO of IIFL and her husband Dhaval’s childhood friend. “All disclosures and recusals have been diligently followed, including disclosures of all securities held or subsequently transferred,” it said.
A statement by 360 One said that throughout the fund’s tenure, IPE-Plus Fund 1 made zero investments in any shares of the Adani Group either directly or indirectly through any fund.
