Madhabi Puri-Buch’s Blackstone connection deserves a closer look

The SEBI chairperson seems to have been economical with the truth in her responses to the Hindenburg allegations on conflicts of interest, especially to do with her Blackstone ties.

If Securities and Exchange Board of India chairperson Madhabi Puri-Buch thought the statements released by her and the regulator were enough to address the conflict of interest allegations levelled by short seller Hindenburg Research last Saturday, she couldn’t be more wrong. 

What could prove far more problematic for Puri-Buch than her name appearing alongside an entity (a fund with Adani group links) she is overseeing the investigation of—which we wrote about in a previous story—is her close connection with American private equity major Blackstone. 

“Blackstone is heavily invested in India. It is the promoter of many companies in India. …

Author

Furquan Moharkan

Furquan leads the banking coverage at The Morning Context. A business journalist with eight years of experience and a best-selling author, in his earlier stints as a reporter with the Deccan Herald and a columnist at The Banker, he wrote on banking, financial markets and regulatory affairs. He has extensively covered India's debt market crisis, banking crisis and the fall of Yes Bank.

Editor, Banking

furquan@mailtmc.com

Delhi

Author

Abir Dasgupta

Abir investigates corruption and white-collar crime, with a focus on finance, infrastructure, energy and the environment. He started his career as a reporter at the Economic and Political Weekly. Prior to The Morning Context, he wrote freelance for publications in India and abroad.

Editor, Investigations

abir@mailtmc.com

Delhi