On Thursday, Adani Enterprises Limited denied rumours that, in response to accusations of financial fraud and malpractice made by short-seller Hindenburg Research, the Adani Group had hired accounting firm Grant Thornton to conduct an independent audit of some of its companies’ finances.
Business website Live Mint claims that AEL referred to the reports as “market rumor” and stated in an exchange filing that it would be “inappropriate” to comment more. said
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“We would like to make it clear that the aforementioned news item looks to be a market rumour, so it would be inappropriate for us to comment. We would like to reaffirm that we have complied with our disclosure responsibilities under the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, and our agreements with stock exchanges, and we will continue to do so “according to AEL’s filing.
Since the news of the study by US-based short-seller Hindenburg surfaced, the market value of Gautam Adani’s conglomerate has dropped by about $120 billion. The Adani Group has refuted accusations of “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud… over the course of decades” and has since made an effort to reassure investors by highlighting a “very robust” balance sheet in response to worries over an excessive amount of debt.
The Adani Group has been paying down some of its debts in an effort to allay these worries. On Wednesday, business daily Economic Times reported that the Adani Group is in discussions with lenders to settle a $500 million bridge loan facility used to purchase majority stakes in the cement companies ACC Ltd and Ambuja Cements Ltd.
More guarantees from Adani followed SEBI’s announcement that it is looking into Hindenburg’s claims, and the Congress has now contacted SEBI and the Reserve Bank of India to request an investigation into how public financial institutions were exposed to the situation.
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The controversy surrounding the Adani Group has also sparked political conflict in India, with opposition parties, such as the Congress, accusing the governing Bharatiya Janata Party of “favoriting” Adani, who is from Gujarat, the home state of prime leader Narendra Modi.
The Supreme Court has received a number of petitions calling for investigations into the various claims, and it is scheduled to hear a number of them on Friday. To safeguard the interests of thousands of investors, the top court has already demanded that the government put in place a “strong framework” by revising the law and stepping up SEBI’s oversight.
