SEBI gives clean chit to Adani Group in Hindenburg Report case

Business News: India's market regulator, The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Thursday cleared Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani of charges made by US short-seller Hindenburg Research. Sebi said the accusations against the group were not proven and therefore did not stand. In two separate orders dated September 18, the market regulator also said no fine would be levied on the Adani Group in relation to the Hindenburg claims.

'No violations': SEBI

Sebi said in its order, “The charges mentioned in the show-cause notice are not proved. Because of this, there is no question of liability or penalty. The regulator added that the money involved had been repaid with interest and no funds had been siphoned off. Sebi stated there was no fraud or unfair trade practice in the case.

Details of the loan transfers

Sebi’s investigation showed that Adani Ports had sent money to Adicorp Enterprises, which then gave loans to Adani Power. Adani Power later paid back Adicorp with interest, and Adicorp repaid Adani Ports. In a similar case, Adani Ports had given loans to Milestone Tradelinks, which also passed funds to Adani Power. Again, Adani Power repaid Milestone, which then repaid Adani Ports with interest. Sebi noted that these loans were given and returned with interest in stages during the probe period.

Gautam Adani responds to Sebi decision

Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani welcomed the Sebi decision and said the group remains committed to India’s institutions and people. He stated that the company has always worked with “transparency and integrity” and called the Hindenburg allegations “baseless. He also posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the group feels the pain of investors who lost money because of the “false and motivated” report and that those who spread such stories “owe the nation an apology.”

What Hindenburg had claimed

In 2021, US-based Hindenburg Research alleged that the Adani Group used three firms — Adicorp Enterprises, Milestone Tradelinks, and Rehvar Infrastructure — to move funds between group companies. The report said this allowed Adani to bypass related-party transaction rules and possibly mislead investors.