Adani Group rocked by Hindenburg allegations against SEBI

Adani Group’s stock value plunged by nearly $150bn after Hindenburg Research’s first report in January 2023.

Adani Group, the Indian conglomerate rocked by a Hindenburg Research report last year, has faced another heavy share selloff after the short seller accused the head of India’s market regulator of having links to offshore funds also used by the group.

About $2.43bn, or 1 percent, was wiped off the market value of Adani companies by the end of the trading day on Monday although that was a substantial recovery from earlier losses of more than $13bn.

The battle between Hindenburg Research and Adani Group began 18 months ago when the United States-based short seller alleged Adani improperly used tax havens, accusations the group denied again on Sunday, saying its overseas holding structure was fully transparent.

Citing whistleblower documents, Hindenburg said on Saturday that Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson of the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) since 2022, has a conflict of interest in the Adani matter due to previous investments.

Buch said the report’s allegations were baseless, and in a separate statement, the regulator said allegations made by Hindenburg Research against the Adani Group have been duly investigated.

Shares in the group’s flagship firm, Adani Enterprises, closed out Monday 1.1 percent lower while Adani Ports, Adani Total Gas, Adani Power, Adani Wilmar and Adani Energy Solutions were down between 0.6 percent and 4.2 percent. Only Adani Green bucked the trend, closing 1 percent higher.

“The allegations are coming for the second time. Lot of investigations have happened over the last year and a half. This is a temporary, knee-jerk reaction. Things will get back to