Hindenburg report effect: All Adani group stocks slump; Adani Energy tumbles 17%

All the 10 Adani group stocks slumped in early trade on Monday (August 12), with Adani Energy tumbling 17 per cent, after the US short-seller Hindenburg Research alleged that SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband had undisclosed investments in obscure offshore funds in Bermuda and Mauritius, the same entities allegedly used by Vinod Adani to round-trip funds and inflate stock prices.

Adani Energy Solutions nosedived 17 per cent, Adani Total Gas tanked 13.39 per cent, NDTV plunged 11 per cent, and Adani Power dropped 10.94 per cent on the BSE.

Stocks of Adani Green Energy declined 6.96 per cent, Adani Wilmar slumped 6.49 per cent, Adani Enterprises tumbled 5.43 per cent, Adani Ports dived 4.95 per cent, Ambuja Cements skidded 2.53 per cent, and ACC dipped 2.42 per cent.

Hindenburg’s allegation

Hindenburg Research had on Saturday (August 10) alleged that SEBI chairperson Buch and her husband had undisclosed investments in obscure offshore funds in Bermuda and Mauritius, the same entities allegedly used by Vinod Adani - the elder brother of group chairman Gautam Adani - to round-trip funds and inflate stock prices.

Buch and her husband issued a statement calling Hindenburg's latest tirade as an attack on the credibility of SEBI and attempted "character assassination".

Fall in Sensex, Nifty

In the equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 479.78 points to 79,226.13. The NSE Nifty dropped 155.4 points to 24,212.10.

Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch in a joint statement on Sunday (August 11) said the investments were made in 2015, well before her appointment as a whole-time member of SEBI in 2017 and her subsequent elevation as chairperson in March 2022, and in her capacity as "private citizens living in Singapore". These funds became "dormant" on her appointment in SEBI.

‘Conflict of interest’

"SEBI was tasked with investigating investment funds relating to the Adani matter, which would include funds Ms Buch was personally invested in and funds by the same sponsor which were specifically highlighted in our original report. This is obviously a massive conflict of interest," Hindenburg said.

(With agency inputs)