Hindenburg Report An "Attack" On Market Regulator: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Politicians and financial experts have rejected the latest report by the US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research targeting the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chief.

While former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar alleged a global attempt at destabilizing the Indian economy, IMF Executive Director KV Subramanian backed the SEBI chief's integrity.

Mr Chandrasekhar called the report an attack on the market regulator and accused the Congress of being in a "partnership" with Hindenburg.

"Lets be clear - this attack on @SEBI_India by a foreign bank #Hindenburg, is an obvious partnership with the Cong and has an ominous motive and goal. To destabilize, discredit one of the world's strongest financial systems and create chaos in world's fastest growing Economy i.e. India. On this let there be no doubt," he said on Twitter.

Mr Chandrasekhar said the report had the "classic Congress stye innuendo and lies glued together with a few grains of truth - aimed at discrediting regulator and causing chaos and losses in markets for investors - thus slowing down bullish sentiments."

"I have said often and say again - Many global forces with the help of Congress dynasty want slow down or trip up India's rise. We won't let them," said the former minister.

The announcement by Hindenburg that "something big" proved to be a "pathetic damp squib", said lawyer and BJP leader Mahesh Jethmalani, adding that the aim appears to be to "destabilise India's stock markets".

"As regards the "big" something there is nothing new against the #Adani group. The target is now the regulator- #SEBI's -Chairperson #MadhabiPuriBuch. SEBI had issued a notice to Hindenburg seeking information regarding the circumstances of the Adani short sale as it was entitled to. Instead of responding to these Hindenburg has chosen to attack its Chairperson on the ground of conflict of interest (more on the grounds on which the attack is based  after Ms Buch issues a detailed statement as announced; suffice it to say that the grounds are prima facie rubbish)," said Mr Jethmalani in a post on X. 

"The picture thus is one of a US based profiteer who made millions of dollars at the cost of Indian retail investors now hedging questions legitimately asked by  the Indian regulator and brazenly defaming  the latter without answering its questions," Mr Jethmalani added. 

The BJP leader attacked the "left-leaning media outlets" for going after the SEBI chairperson and urged the government of the day to pay "serious attention to these anti nationals who have no other agenda but to  disrupt  India's social fabric, distort its polity and now devastate its economy". 

Former Infosys CEO Mohandas Pai said that the latest Hindenburg allegations against the SEBI are rubbish and a "character assassination by a Vulture Fund."

"Rubbish allegations aimed at sensationalism. There was a SC-monitored investigation overseen by an eminent panel and when the Vulture Fund was fully exposed, it throws mud," Mr Pai posted on X.

Senior BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi too called the Hindenburg report a "conspiracy to create imbalance in India".

"I want to ask why these foreign reports come at the time of the Parliament session? I want to allege that Congress leaders knew that the report was coming. It is clear that the Opposition wants to create imbalance in India," said the Rajya Sabha MP.

Deepak Shenoy, the founder-CEO of Capitalmind - a portfolio management service, feels the Hindenburg report has gone into "sensationalism", but there's "hardly any substance".

"Someone's already short and gonna cover their shorts after releasing a mostly sensational and some fact oriented report, and if you're wondering who the Patsy is, it's you :) Facts like oh he had dinner with this guy twice so we should consider both of them promoters," he said on X.

"You can't refute this. If you do, you'll be called a crony or whatever. Some brokers will be told to advise their customers to sell. Uncle will cover his shorts. Trp goes up. GDP goes up. Good for everyone. Break a window and replace it is good for GDP. :) I think it's good though cos it will be educative, in whatever little facts and all the entertainment, and then perhaps some good opportunities come our way," added Mr Shenoy.

KV Subramanian, former chief economic adviser of India, vouched for the "unimpeachable integrity" of SEBI boss Madhabi Puri Buch and said that the report lacked intellectual rigour.

"I've personally known SEBI Chairperson Madhabi for about two decades. Given her unimpeachable integrity and her intellectual prowess, I'm sure she will shred to smithereens this Hindenberg hit job," said Mr Subramanian, who is now an Executive Director with the International Monetary Fund.

"While I've not read the report, I've read this wonderful thread by @BhagwaanUvacha. The bottom line is in this tweet, which demonstrates clearly that the report lacks intellectual rigour and was a hit job. I'm not surprised about the lack of intellectual rigour..." said the top economist.

Tax Compaas founder Ajay Rotti called the Hindenburg report "an attempt to get the Indian markets to tank at any cost."

"This report has been published just to divert attention from scrutiny of Hindenburg themselves and their short trade.... the report calls the SEBI show cause to them as "apparent show cause notice"," said Mr Roti on X. He further said it was a desperate effort to bring India markets down and create uncertainty, doubt and panic amongst its investors – both domestic and foreign.

Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval had earlier in the day denied the report and called it an attempted "character assassination" in response to the SEBI's July action against Hindenburg.

The Adani Group, too, in an exchange filing, has rejected the report as "recycled claims" that were earlier "proven baseless and dismissed by the Supreme Court."

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