Shares of Adani group companies including Adani Enterprises Ltd, Adani Power Ltd, Adani Green Energy Ltd, Adani Wilmar and Adani Energy Solutions Ltd will be in focus on Monday morning after the markets regulator Sebi said it has completed the probe in all but two allegations against the Adani group. Sebi informed the Supreme Court (SC) that it was still awaiting information from five tax havens on actual owners behind foreign investors investing in the conglomerate, PTI reported. In a status report, Sebi stated that out of the 24 matters it was probing, findings in 22 are final.
Sebi was investigating allegations made by Hindenburg Research in January this year, wherein it accused the Adani Group of stock manipulation, fraudulent transactions and other financial misdeeds. It accused the group of using offshore companies in tax havens to manipulate share prices and financial results. The Hindenburg report also alleged non-compliance with disclose and shareholding laws. The group has denied wrongdoing.
The SC had asked Sebi to look into the Hindenburg Research allegations and submit its findings to a six-member panel, which included a retired judge and veteran bankers.
The group founder Gautam Adani recently said the report was “a combination of a targeted misinformation and discredited allegations, the majority of them dating from 2004 to 2015.” At Adani Enterprises Ltd’s annual general meeting, Gautam Adani said the allegations were all settled by appropriate authorities at that time, noting the Hindenburg report was a deliberate and malicious attempt aimed at damaging the reputation of the Adani group and generating short-term profit by driving down Adani group stocks.
Without divulging the outcome of its investigations, Sebi gave a detailed breakdown of the steps taken by it during its probe, including related party transactions. The regulator also said its investigation on some offshore deals covered 12 foreign portfolio investors who were public shareholders of Adani Group companies and that details have been sought from five countries on FPIs.
But since some entities related to these investors are located in tax haven jurisdictions, “establishing the economic interest shareholders of the 12 FPIs remains a challenge”, the regulator said, adding that it has sought information from five foreign countries on this issue.
Sebi said an interim report has been approved by the competent authority with respect to trading in Adani group stocks in pre and post-release of the Hindenburg report. ”Information from external agencies/entities actively pursued and awaited,” it said adding this interim report was approved by the competent authority on August 24.
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