Hindenburg vs SEBI: Govt must satisfy itself that there has been no conflict of interest, says TT Ram Mohan

Hindenburg Research is again in the news, this time with allegations against the chairperson of the Securities & Exchange Board of India Ms Madhabi Buch. It claims that she and her husband had invested in a fund that was founded by a former director at Adani Enterprises. The US-based shortseller points to a conflict of interest. 

While both she and her husband have denied any opacity in their dealings, SEBI has also said that Ms Buch had been making disclosures from time to time and that when necessary, she had recused herself from decisions to avoid conflict of interest. 

We spoke to TT Ram Mohan, former Professor of Economics at IIM-Ahmedabad. He says that given that this is the chair of the markets regulator, it is important to ensure that due process has been followed and that appropriate disclosures have been made. The government, he says, must satisfy itself that no conflicts of interest have been entertained. If disclosures have indeed been made, the question is, to whom, he asks. “Is it to the SEBI board of directors? To help answer these questions, the government must form a committee and satisfy itself" that everything has been above board. 

Listen in for more from Prof. Ram Mohan. 

(Host: Bharatkumar K, Producers: Rowan Barnett, Anjana PV, Siddharth Mathew Cherian)