In India, stock market regulator’s alleged links with billionaire group sparks political row

A record-breaking run in India’s stock markets that has made it a cynosure of global investors is being overshadowed by a political row over the chief stock market regulator’s alleged links to the controversial Adani business group.

India’s opposition camp is demanding a parliamentary probe, arguing for the protection of small investors. Some observers say the government could be caught in an awkward position if it dismissed such calls, while others note that market sentiment has so far been undented.

The controversy erupted over a report by US-based firm Hindenburg Research earlier this month, accusing Madhabi Puri Buch, chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), of having links with offshore funds used by the Adani group.

Both Buch and the Adanis have denied any wrongdoing.

Buch has stated that investments in the fund referenced by the Hindenburg report were made with her husband when the couple were private citizens in Singapore in 2015, two years before she joined India’s market regulator.

The regulator has said it has “duly investigated” the Adani group and that Buch has complied with disclosure requirements.

The case carries heavy resonance, as millions of young Indians have flocked to invest in stock markets over the past decade rather than keep their savings in low-yield bank deposits that barely beat inflation.

The country’s benchmark BSE index has risen by 111 per cent over the past five years, breaching several record highs in recent weeks. On Thursday, the index traded close to record highs at 79,105 points.

Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, who was appointed as opposition chief in late June, used an analogy from the nation’s favourite sport cricket in a video posted on social media X to