$2.4bn wiped off Adani shares after Hindenburg allegations

BENGALURU: Adani Group, the Indian conglomerate rocked by a Hindenburg Research report last year, faced another heavy share selloff on Monday after the shortseller accused the head of India’s market regulator of having links to offshore funds also used by the group.

$2.43 billion, or 1%, had been wiped off the market value of Adani companies by the end of the trading day, although that was a substantial recovery from earlier losses of more than $13 billion.

The battle between Hindenburg Research and the Adani Group began 18 months ago when the US shortseller alleged Adani improperly used tax havens, accusations the group denied again on Sunday, saying its overseas holding structure was fully transparent.

Citing whistleblower documents, Hindenburg said on Saturday that Madhabi Puri Buch, chair of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) since 2022, has a conflict of interest in the Adani matter due to previous investments.

Buch said the report’s allegations were baseless and in a separate statement the regulator said allegations made by Hindenburg Research against the Adani Group have been duly investigated.

Shares in the group’s flagship firm Adani Enterprises closed out Monday 1.1% lower, while Adani Ports , Adani Total Gas, Adani Power, Adani Wilmar and Adani Energy Solutions were down between 0.6% and 4.2%. Only Adani Green bucked the trend, closing 1% higher.