Hindenburg Research, the American short seller that shook India’s corporate landscape, announced closing down of its operations on January 15. The short seller had first set its eyes on billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani Group nearly two years ago, when it published a report titled “Adani Group: How the World’s 3rd Richest Man is Pulling the largest Con in Corporate History”.
Hindenburg-Adani Saga Timeline
After a two year-long investigation on the port-to-power conglomerate, the short-seller in its January 2023 report accused the Adani Group of stock manipulation and financial misconduct.
“Gautam Adani...has amassed a net worth of roughly $120 billion, adding over $100 billion in the past 3 years largely through stock price appreciation in the group’s 7 key listed companies, which have spiked an average of 819% in that period,” said the short seller in its 106-page report.
Following the accusations, the Adani Group entities' including Adani Enterprises, Adani Wilmer, Adani Power and Adani Ports' stock prices dropped up to 83 per cent. The port-to-power conglomerate had also scrapped a Rs 20,000 crore fundraise, which it had planned in February 2023. The Supreme Court had appointed a six-member committee to investigate the accusations.
Hindenburg Vs Sebi Boss
Just when the Adani Group companies were recovering from the consequences of the Hindenburg’s report, the short seller dropped another finding in August last year. This time it was securities and exchange board of India’s (Sebi) chief Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch on the short seller’s radar. According to Hindenburg, Buch and her husband held stakes in obscure offshore funds which were utilised to illegally siphon funds to Adani Group companies.
“We had previously noted Adani’s total confidence in continuing to operate without the risk of serious regulatory intervention, suggesting that this may be explained through Adani’s relationship with SEBI Chairperson, Madhabi Buch,” the August report stated.
The two reports against the Adani Group and Sebi chief sparked a verbal political battle in the country between the BJP-led ruling government and opposition parties. Opposition leaders accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of shielding Gautam Adani.
“A JPC inquiry is imperative to investigate this massive scandal. Until then, concerns persist that PM Modi will continue to shield his ally, compromising India’s constitutional institutions, painstakingly built over seven decades,” said Mallikarjun Kharge.
