In a statement on behalf of the conglomerate, the Hindenburg Research report, which was published on January 24, 2023, stated that the company engaged in stock manipulation and accounting fraud was a malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations. Singh said the report was a malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations that have been tested and rejected by India's highest courts.
The timing of the report's publication shows a brazen, mala fide intention to undermine the reputation of Adani Group with the aim of damaging the upcoming Follow-on Public Offering from Adani Enterprises, the biggest FPO in India. The investor community has always trusted the Adani Group on the basis of detailed analysis and reports prepared by financial experts and leading national and international credit rating agencies. He said that the conglomerate is a diverse portfolio of market-leading businesses that are managed by top-notch CEOs and that our informed and knowledgeable investors are not influenced by one-sided, motivated and unsubstantiated reports with vested interests. Singh said that the company has always been in compliance with laws and maintains the highest levels of corporate governance.
The Hindenburg report stated that the Adani Group has been involved in accounting fraud, stock manipulation and money laundering over the course of decades. Adani has pulled off this gargantuan feat with the help of enablers in government and a cottage industry of international companies that facilitate such activities, said the Hindenburg in the report, based on two years of investigation, interviews with former and senior executives of the company, review of thousands of documents and site visits in multiple countries.
The report said that Gautam Adani's brother Rajesh Adani and brother-in- law Samir Vora, who played key roles in the diamond trading import scheme using offshore shell entities to generate artificial turnover, are integral parts of the conglomerate. Vinod Adani, a brother in the centre of government investigations, regularly manages a network of offshore entities that have collectively moved billions of dollars into Adani's publicly listed and private entities. These companies are involved in stock parking and manipulation, money laundering, and money laundering through the private companies into the listed ones.
The Hindenburg report found offshore shells that sent money to public Adani companies through onshore private Adani companies.
The report also questioned the credibility and ability of Adani Enterprises' independent audit firm Shah Dhadharia, which has only four partners as young as 23 -- 24 years old, and 11 employees.
All seven listed Adani Group stocks fell yesterday after the report flagged risks to the financials of its key companies. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone fell 5.47 per cent, Adani Transmission slipped 5.05 per cent, Adani Power fell 4.55 per cent, Adani Total Gas dropped 4.38 per cent, Adani Green Energy moved 3.42 per cent lower and Adani Enterprises declined 1.56 per cent in late deals.
The issue will open on Friday.