- The Adani Group chairman described the US-based short-sellers report as a ‘combination of targeted misinformation and discredited allegations.’
- In the report, Hindenburg accused the Adani Group of carrying out the ‘largest con in corporate history,’ a charge which the latter has repeatedly denied.
- The issue is being probed separately by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and a Supreme Court-appointed expert committee.
- Adani, who has seen a significant decline in his net worth, has since slipped behind countryman and Reliance Group chairman Mukesh Ambani, and China’s Zhong Shanshan, among the richest in Asia.
Addressing at the 31st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of his flagship Adani Enterprises, Gautam Adani once again accused the US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research of trying to malign the company’s reputation with its report, which he dubbed as a ‘combination of targeted misinformation and discredited allegations.’
“This year, a US-based short-seller published a report to short our stocks, just as we were planning to launch the largest follow-on public offering in India’s history,” Adani said in a video message, without naming the Nathan Anderson-founded Hindenburg.
The industrialist, who was the third-richest person in the world and the wealthiest Asian at the time of the publication of the report, further said: “The report was a combination of targeted misinformation and discredited allegations. The majority of them date from 2004 to 2015. They were all settled by authorities at that time. It was a deliberate and malicious attempt aimed at damaging our reputation.”
In the report, published in January, Hindenburg accused the Adani Group of carrying out the ‘largest con in corporate history,’ a charge which the latter, and its billionaire founder, have repeatedly denied. In India, the allegations triggered a major political storm, with opposition parties unitedly seeking a probe by a joint parliamentary committee (JPC), and questioning the ‘silence’ of prime minister Narendra Modi for allegedly favoring Adani: both are from the same state (Gujarat) and have known each other.
On the other hand, the government has repeatedly turned down the opposition’s demand for a JPC and also rejected the latter’s charge of ‘favoring’ the businessman. The issue is being probed separately by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and a Supreme Court-appointed expert committee.
Meanwhile, Adani, who has seen a significant decline in his net worth, has since slipped behind countryman and Reliance Group chairman Mukesh Ambani, and China’s Zhong Shanshan, among the richest in Asia.
(With inputs from agencies)
