In past we came to know that Hindenburg Research, a short-selling company in New York, alleged Adani Group of ‘the biggest corporate fraud in history’. In January 2023, Hindenburg Research published a researched report about Adani Group stock manipulation and scam which led to a significant decline in the company’s stock price . After the report of January 2023, Hindenburg Research came up with a new report of Adani Group Scam. This time, according to their report, SEBI, the market regulator of India, did not investigate the Adani Group fraud case properly.. Hindenburg Research is saying that the chairperson of SEBI, Madhabi Puri Buch, might have conflicts of interest
Lets take a look on some facts about Hindenburg Research and Adani Group
Gautam Adani, the founder, started Adani Group in 1988 as a commodity trading business. Adani’s business spreads across different sectors like ports, mining, power generation and transmission, natural gas, infrastructure, renewable energy production, etc. Before the allegations from Hindenburg, Adani rose to become Asia’s richest person.
Hindenburg Research, founded by Nathan Anderson in 2017, is a forensic financial research firm that analyzes especially equity, credit, and derivatives.The company mainly researches, analyzes, and tracks corporate wrongdoings while placing bets against the company .
Hindenburg’s previous report, published in 2023, claimed that Adani Group used hidden offshore funds to artificially boost its value and that the company’s finances were weaker than they appeared. This report declined the stock price of Adani Group which still not recovered completely. But according to the report by SEBI, through their investigation, they found no evidence of fraud by Adani Group.
According to Hindenburg, the chairperson of SEBI, Madhabi Puri Buch, invested in offshore funds that helped Adani manipulate shares. Anil Ahuja, the manager of this fund, is a childhood friend of Madhabi Puri Buch’s husband and was once a director of companies controlled by Adani Group .Hindenburg also alleges that Ms. Buch supported certain real estate investment rules while her husband was advising Blackstone, a major player in that market.
In response to the allegations, Buch stated that the investment was made in a personal capacity before she was appointed as chief of SEBI. SEBI also backed her, stating that she disclosed all investments properly, avoided conflicts, and acted within the law. The Adani Group labelled the claims as ‘malicious’ and false.
The Indian government has not taken any action to remove Ms. Buch and is unlikely to do so unless new evidence emerges. The Adani Group faced a brief dip in its stock prices after these new claims, but the prices quickly rebounded.
Overall, it seems that Hindenburg’s new accusations haven’t had the impact they were hoping for. However, the initial investigation did lead to positive changes. The Adani Group has become more transparent and focused, with profits rising significantly—from $2.7 billion in 2022 to $4.3 billion last year.