A company owned by Asia’s richest man has hit back at a report which accused the firm of “brazen” stock manipulation and accounting fraud.
The Adani Group, founded by the Asian Lord Gautam Adani, called the report by a US investment firm “malicious” and “selective misinformation”.
The group lost almost $11bn (£8.7bn) of its market value after the research was made public on Wednesday.
It is now considering legal action against New York’s Hindenburg Research.
Adani Group is one of India’s biggest companies and has operations in a wide range of industries including commodities trading, airports, utilities, and renewable energy.
It is led by Indian billionaire Mr. Adani who is the world’s fourth richest man, according to Forbes magazine.
Hindenburg, meanwhile, specializes in “short-selling”, or betting against a company’s share price in the expectation that it will fall.
In its report, Hindenburg accused Mr. Adani of “pulling the largest con in corporate history”. This came days ahead of a planned sale of Adani Group shares to the public.
The report questioned the Adani Group’s ownership of companies in offshore tax havens such as Mauritius and the Caribbean. It also claimed Adani companies had “substantial debt” which put the entire group on a “precarious financial footing”.
But on Thursday, Adani Group said it was evaluating “remedial and punitive action” against Hindenburg Research in the US and India.
Adani said it had always been “in compliance with all laws”.
“The volatility in Indian stock markets created by the report is of great concern and has led to unwanted anguish for Indian citizens,” said the group head of Adani’s legal team, Jatin Jalundhwala.
“Clearly, the report and its unsubstantiated contents were designed to have a deleterious effect on the share values of Adani Group companies as Hindenburg Research, by their own admission, is positioned to benefit from a slide in Adani shares.”
The group’s flagship firm, Adani Enterprises, is scheduled to begin selling its shares to the public on Friday.
Political response
Opposition politicians who have long alleged that Mr. Adani has benefitted because of his proximity in Asia and to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been quick to react to the report.
“Considering that detailed research is out in the public domain, it is important that the government of India takes note of the charges made,” tweeted Priyanka Chaturvedi, member of parliament and a Shiv Sena party leader.
Another popular South Indian politician, Mr. KT Ramarao, called on India’s investigative agencies and market regulator to open a probe into the Adani Group’s operations.
But regulators are unlikely to initiate any action independently, say experts.
“The Security and Exchange Board of India [which regulates listed companies in India] will act only if there is a specific complaint sent to it. And in this case, there isn’t,” said Shriram Subramaniam, founder and managing director of InGovern Research, a consultancy that advises investors on governance issues.
“There are many allegations in the report that have been the subject of regulatory scrutiny in the past.”
The BBC contacted the market regulator but received no response.
While it appears that the decks are clear for Adani Group to proceed with its $2.4bn public share sale on Friday, the allegations in the report could put some investors off, said Ambareesh Baliga, a financial markets analyst.
But the report could have broader consequences that go beyond the Adani Group.
Andy Mukherjee, a columnist at the news service Bloomberg, said there were “many questions about the integrity of the broader Indian market, which is caught between the pressures of financial globalization and political nationalism”.
He added: “Is the Security and Exchange Board of India waiting for a public outcry to go in and clean up the market?”
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Is Anthony Odiong still a priest after life in prison sentence over rape?")