Hindenburg’s claims on SEBI chief ‘mischievous’, ‘malicious’: Adani Group

The Adani Group has termed US short-seller Hindenburg Research’s latest allegations regarding Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chief Madhabi Puri Buch as “malicious” and “manipulative selections” of public information, asserting that it has no commercial relationship with Madhabi or her husband.

Madhabi and her husband have already rubbished the allegations.

“The latest allegations by Hindenburg are 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.

“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 group said in a filing on Sunday (August 11).

Hindenburg claims

Hindenburg on Saturday stated that Madhabi and her husband invested in offshore entities that were allegedly part of a fund structure managed by India Infoline and in which Vinod Adani, Gautam Adani’s brother, also had investments.

These investments reportedly date back to 2015, well before Madhabi’s appointment as a full-time member of SEBI in 2017 and the subsequent elevation as chairperson in March 2022.

It said Bermuda-based Global Opportunities Fund, which allegedly was used by entities connected to Adani Group to trade in shares of group companies, had sub-funds. Buch and her husband were investors in one of these sub-funds in 2015.

Adani’s counter-argument

Citing “whistleblower documents”, Hindenburg said, Madhabi and her husband had stakes in both obscure offshore funds used in the Adani money siphoning scandal.

The SEBI, it claimed, has “shown a surprising lack of interest in Adani’s alleged undisclosed web of Mauritius and offshore shell entities”.

Responding to the allegations, the Adani filing said: “It is reiterated that our overseas holding structure is fully transparent, with all relevant details disclosed regularly in numerous public documents.”

“No more than red herrings”

It went on to state that Anil Ahuja was a nominee director of 3i investment fund in Adani Power (2007-2008) and, later, a director of Adani Enterprises until 2017.

“The Adani Group has absolutely no commercial relationship with the individuals or matters mentioned in this calculated deliberate effort to malign our standing. We remain steadfastly committed to transparency and compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements,” it said.

Adani said for “a discredited short-seller under the scanner for several violations of Indian securities laws, Hindenburg’s allegations are no more than red herrings thrown by a desperate entity with total contempt for Indian laws”.