Hindenburg report reveals $5 billion mutual fund money invested in 10 Adani Group companies
Hindenburg's report on SEBI chief and Adani Group
As much as $4.98 billion (Rs 41,814 crore) worth of investments have been made by mutual funds in 10 companies belonging to the Adani Group, a report by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research has revealed.
Currently, there are 11 Adani Group companies listed in the Indian markets and barring New Delhi Television (NDTV) - the mutual fund managers have parked investors' money in every single company, according to Moneycontrol.
- Ambuja Cements
- ACC
- Adani Ports and SEZ
- Adani Enterprises
- Adani Power
- Adani Energy Solutions
- Adani Green Energy
- Adani Total Gas
- Sanghi Industries
- Adani Wilmar
- New Delhi Television (NDTV)
As of July 2024, Adani Ports and SEZ had the highest mutual fund exposure at $1.5 billion (Rs 13,024), followed by Ambuja Cements at $1.07 billion (Rs 8999.25 crore).
After the Hindenburg report was released on Saturday (Aug 10), the Indian stock market opened in red on Monday (Aug 12) with all Adani stocks experiencing a significant dip.Adani Ports and SEZ was down 2.33 per cent by the end of the day while Adani Enterprises closed at Rs 3,140 - down 2.46 per cent from the last trading session.
What did the report claim?
The Hindenburgreport published on Saturday (Aug 10), citing whistleblower documents claimed that market regulator SEBI chief, Madhabi Puri Buch, had a conflict of interest due to investments made by her in fundslinked to the Adani Group's alleged financial misconduct.
The money was invested in a fund, linked to associates of Vinod Adani, brother of Gautam Adani, who is chairman of Adani Group.
"She had a100 per cent interest in an offshore Singaporean consulting firm, called Agora Partners. On March 16, 2022, two weeks after her appointment as SEBI chairperson, she quietly transferred the shares to her husband," the report said.
The report also highlighted the SEBI chief's role inpromoting Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in India - an asset class that significantly benefitted Blackstone, where her husband is a senior adviser.Prior to his adviser role,Dhaval had not worked for a fund, in real estate or capital markets.
This report by Hindenburg comes more than a year after the short-seller alleged improper use of tax havens and stock manipulation by Adani Group, setting off a $150 billion sell-off in the conglomerate's stocks despite its denials of wrongdoing.
(With inputs from agencies)