New Delhi: Markets regulator Sebi announced on Thursday that billionaire Gautam Adani and his group have been cleared of stock manipulation allegations put forth by US short-seller Hindenburg Research. Sebi’s investigation found no evidence suggesting that the conglomerate utilized related parties to funnel funds into its publicly listed companies. In two separate detailed orders, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) stated that claims of insider trading, market manipulation, and breaches of public shareholding norms were unsubstantiated.
In January 2023, Hindenburg published a critical report alleging that Adicorp Enterprises Pvt Ltd, Milestone Tradelinks Pvt Ltd, and Rehvar Infrastructure Pvt Ltd were used to channel funds from various Adani Group companies to support publicly listed Adani Power Ltd and Adani Enterprises Ltd. Sebi board member Kamlesh C Varshney noted that the transactions involving Adicorp, Milestone Tradelinks, and Rehvar Infrastructure did not meet the criteria for a related party, indicating no violation of Sebi’s disclosure norms. Additionally, the investigation revealed no issues related to substantial acquisitions of securities or control that might mislead investors. Consequently, Sebi determined that there was no basis for imposing liability or penalties on the Adani entities or their executives.