Anika Begay
An airplane flies behind the Adani logo near a construction site in Mumbai. The Adani Group is one of India’s largest multinational companies with a diversified business portfolio.
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Shares of Adani Group tumbled on Monday after a new report from U.S. short-seller Hindenburg accused the chairman of India’s capital markets regulator of having conflicts of interest that prevented a thorough investigation into fraud allegations.
The Indian group’s flagship company, Adani Enterprises, lost as much as 5% in early morning trading, before recovering some of its losses.
Shares of Adani Total Gas, Adani Power, Adani Wilmar and Adani Energy Solutions all fell sharply following the news in morning trading. Total losses for Adani group companies hit $9 billion due to the early plunge, Reuters reported.
Hindenburg on Saturday released a report saying that both Madhabi Puri Buch, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and her husband, Dhaval Buch, had in the past invested in offshore funds also used by the Adani Group.
Hindenburg said he did not believe SEBI “to be an objective arbiter in the Adani matter.”
Madhabi Puri Buch and Dhaval Buch both denied any wrongdoing and said the report’s allegations were baseless.
Adani on Sunday dismissed Hindenburg’s latest allegations, calling the report a “red herring.” The company said its foreign holding structure was completely transparent.
Led by billionaire Gautam Adani, the multinational conglomerate operates in a wide range of sectors, including commodities trading, airports, utilities and renewable energy.
Hindenburg’s report comes nearly 18 months after it first accused Adani Group of stock manipulation and corporate fraud. The findings, released in January 2023, led to a stock price plunge of more than $100 billion.
Adani denied all the allegations and the shares were partially recovered.
