The Adani Group Denies Allegations Made by Hindenburg Research

NEW DELHI: The Adani Group vehemently denied the latest allegations made by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research on Sunday. The group characterized the allegations as “red herrings thrown by a desperate entity with total contempt for Indian laws.”

The new Hindenburg report claimed that Sebi chairperson Madhabi Buch and her husband had stakes in offshore entities involved in the alleged Adani money siphoning scandal. In response, the Adani Group issued a statement describing the allegations as “malicious, mischievous, and manipulative selections of publicly available information to arrive at pre-determined conclusions for personal profiteering with wanton disregard for facts and the law.”

The group emphasized that their overseas holding structure is fully transparent, with all relevant details regularly disclosed in numerous public documents. They also clarified that Anil Ahuja, mentioned in the allegations, had previously served as a nominee director and later as a director in Adani companies, but the group currently has no commercial relationship with the individuals or matters mentioned in the report.

“We completely reject these allegations against the Adani Group which are a recycling of discredited claims that have been thoroughly investigated, proven to be baseless, and already dismissed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in January 2024,” the Adani Group said in its statement.

Hindenburg Research, in its report, claimed that the Sebi chairperson and her husband had hidden stakes in the same obscure offshore Bermuda and Mauritius funds used by Vinod Adani, based on documents provided by a whistleblower and investigations carried out by other entities.

This latest development comes after Hindenburg’s January 2023 report accusing the Adani Group of financial irregularities, which led to a significant drop in the company’s stock price. The Adani Group had previously rubbished these claims, which alleged stock manipulation and fraud by the conglomerate, resulting in a sharp fall in the shares of various Adani Group companies, reportedly amounting to over USD 100 billion.

Meanwhile, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch have also refuted the allegations made against them by Hindenburg Research, stating that the report was “devoid of any truth.”

In a joint statement, Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband strongly denied the allegations, emphasizing that their life and finances are transparent and that they have consistently provided all necessary disclosures to SEBI over the years.

This ongoing saga highlights the intense scrutiny faced by major corporations and regulatory bodies, as allegations and investigations continue to shape the landscape of global financial markets.