The Adani Group logo is seen on the wall of its realty office building on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.
NEW YORK - An advocacy group focused on the impact of debt markets on climate change called on Monday for major bond investors to disband India's Adani Group, saying a critical report by a short-seller had undermined confidence in the company's governance.
U.S. firm Hindenburg Research prompted a multi-billion-dollar sell-off in the Indian group's stocks last week by launching accusations of improper use of offshore tax havens and high debt. Billionaire chairman Gautam Adani, one of the world's richest people, dismissed these as baseless.
Activist groups that have been involved in a campaign called Toxic Bonds said they had written to money managers, including BlackRock, Allianz and Pimco, to reject new investments or credit arrangements with Adani, and publicly divest their holdings.
Spokespeople for the Adani Group, BlackRock, Allianz and Pimco did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
Green bonds, which are used to raise funds for specific projects that are seen to benefit the environment, are one of the sources of financing provided by Adani.
Nick Haines, campaign manager for SumOfUs, a investor advocacy group signed up to the campaign, wrote in a copy of the letter sent to Reuters that Hindenburg's findings undermined any confidence that investors would be ringfenced from Adani's planned green issues this year.
Adani's empire includes interests in coal, a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The Carmichael mine in eastern Australia produces around 10 million tons of coal for export every year.
It has said it will invest more than $50 billion in green hydrogen, a carbon-free fuel that many hope will reduce emissions from heavy industry. The letter said the risk was any investment that would prop up high-emitting activity.
The interconnected financial nature of the Adani Group makes it clear that buying debt from any subsidiary of Adani is by extension supporting Adani's mining businesses, Haines said in the letter.