Butch said in a statement that she had distanced herself from all matters related to Blackstone, but the company, through its various subsidiaries, either owned or had significant stakes in Indian companies.

Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch's ties to Blackstone have come under scrutiny following a Hindenburg Research report alleging links to the Adani group. The new report raises many questions Butch's close relationship with Blackstone and his interests in the matter were questioned.

It has been revealed that Butch's husband Dhaval Butch currently owns Blackstone Inc. Advisors, the world's largest alternative asset manager with over $1 trillion in assets under management. Blackstone sponsors two of the four listed real estate investment trusts.

“Blackstone has a huge investment in India. It is the promoter of many companies in India. That [Buch] They have distanced themselves from the Blackstone cases and the investment in India is not enough,” a veteran fund manager told The Morning Context, requesting anonymity.

New report on Madhavi Puri Buch

Earlier Madhavi Puri Buch Hindenburg Research had denied a conflict of interest claim regarding its ownership of “stakes in obscure offshore funds used in the Adani money laundering scandal”.

She also said that she has withdrawn from all matters related to Blackstone as SEBI Chairperson.

The Morning Context reported that though Madhabi has distanced herself from all matters related to Blackstone, Blackstone either owns or has a significant stake in major companies like hospital chain Care Hospitals, IT services provider Mphasis, Aadhaar Housing Finance, Indiabulls Housing Finance. (now Samana Capital), and ASK Investment Manager, among others.

Madhabi Puri Buch and Sebi did not disclose whether they had recused themselves from all cases related to Blackstone-related companies.

The Morning Context report added that in August 2021, as a full-time SEBI member, Madhabi Puri Buch settled an insider trading case against Atul Goyal and his business, E-City Hi-Tech Projects. This is significant because in April 2019, the Ashok Goyal Trust, of which Atul Goyal is an advisory board member, was the buyer of 51 percent of the Blackstone interest.

The Hindenburg charge continues Madhavi Puri Buch

The Hindenburg report also raised questions about Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch saying she was promoting real estate investment trusts as a promising asset class without disclosing that her husband Dhaval Buch is now an adviser to Blackstone Inc, which sponsored two of the four. . Listed REITs in India.

Hindenburg's report highlighted that her husband, Dhaval Buch, was named a senior advisor to Blackstone in 2019 despite having “never worked for a fund, real estate or capital markets firm”. He was Chief Procurement Officer at Unilever.