Ahmedabad: After receiving a clean chit from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Thursday, Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani demanded a “national apology” from those who spread “false narratives” about the Hindenburg Research.
SEBI has said in its reports that there is no truth behind the allegations by Hindenburg Research against the Adani Group of violating disclosure norms and indulging in fraudulent practices.
“After an exhaustive investigation, SEBI has reaffirmed what we have always maintained, that the Hindenburg claims were baseless. Transparency and integrity have always defined the Adani Group,” Adani posted on X.
He went on to say that he “deeply feels the pain” of those who have “lost money” because of what he tagged “fraudulent and motivated” report, adding that people who have spread “false narratives” should apologise.
“We deeply feel the pain of the investors who lost money because of this fraudulent and motivated report. Those who spread false narratives owe the nation an apology. Our commitment to India’s institutions, to India’s people and to nation building remains unwavering,” he stated.
The US-based short-seller had alleged fund routing to conceal related-party transactions, sparking significant market volatility and impacting Adani Group’s market value. The clean chit brings significant relief to the Adani Group, ending months of scrutiny.
SEBI clarified on Thursday that the allegations made by Hindenburg are incorrect and concluded that there is no violation of the listing agreement or SEBI Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR), and the impugned transactions do not qualify as “related party transactions”.
“Reading of Listing Agreement and SEBI (LODR) Regulations reveals that transactions between a listed company with unrelated party is not covered within the definition of “related party transactions” as it existed during the time when impugned transactions took place, though included specifically after the 2021 amendment,” SEBI clarified.
The market regulator also said that the Supreme Court had rejected the plea of the petitioner and held that procedure followed in arriving at the current shape of regulations is not tainted with any illegality. The Supreme Court also held that no valid grounds have been raised to direct SEBI to revoke its amendments to the SEBI (LODR) Regulations.
Hindenburg, in January 2023, published a report accusing the Adani Group of financial irregularities, leading to a significant drop in the company’s stock price. The group at the time had rubbished these claims.
The Adani Group repeatedly denied all the accusations in the Hindenburg Research report. While addressing the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Adani Enterprises at the time, Gautam Adani had said they were “faced with baseless accusations made by a foreign short seller, that questioned our decades of hard work.”
