Not aware of any subpoena to investors, says Adani on reports of action by US authorities

Billionaire Gautam Adani's conglomerate Adani Group on Friday said it was not aware of of any subpoena being issued to investors by authorities in the United States. It also reiterated that its various issuers' groups remain confident that the disclosures issued by the company are full and complete.

Multiple Adani stocks took a beating on Dalal Street on Friday following Bloomberg's report of US authorities looking into what representations Adani Group made to its American investors after US-based short seller Hindenburg’s report that accused the company of using offshore companies to secretly manipulate its share prices.

The US Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, New York, has sent inquiries in recent months to institutional investors with large holdings in the India conglomerate, the report said citing sources. The requests for information were focused on what Adani Group told those investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission also has a similar probe underway, the report added.


Requests for information from US prosecutors don’t necessarily mean that criminal or civil proceedings will be filed as law enforcement agencies often open inquiries that don’t lead to action.

The interest from US authorities adds to the intense scrutiny of Adani Group, one of India’s biggest conglomerates, following short seller Hindenburg Research’s report accusing it of long-running stock manipulation and accounting fraud. The group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, already faces regulatory probes in its home country.

The company has been embroiled in controversy since the turn of 2023, when Hindenburg accused Adani of various wrongdoings, pointing to alleged corporate governance issues. Following this, many petitions were filed in the Supreme Court to safeguard the interests of retail investors.

Following the report, India's top court had asked market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to probe into the allegations and submit its finding to a six-member expert panel.

The panel reviewed the explanations given by the regulator that there was no evident pattern of manipulative contribution to price rise.

In the probe on foreign ownership of group stocks, the panel, citing the SEBI report, said the ultimate chain of ownership for some 13 overseas entities is unclear.

Separately, the court on Wednesday granted the regulator time until Aug. 14 to complete its probe into the violations of securities laws and regulatory disclosures.