Sebi, India’s capital markets regulator, will present its findings to the Supreme Court regarding the accusations made against the Adani Group by US-based Hindenburg Research. The report will probably be turned in early this week.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India’s inquiry is reportedly complete, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Sebi investigated, among other things, whether Adani Group manipulated share prices of its group companies by taking advantage of loopholes in the minimum public shareholding (MPS) regulations and whether it neglected to report related-party transactions, albeit exact conclusions could not be determined. According to numerous sources, it is doubtful that the regulator’s probe will turn up any serious negative MPS norms-related findings against the Ahmedabad-based infrastructure business. According to the persons cited, it is likely to contain some results from its investigation into related-party transactions.
The Supreme Court had set a deadline of August 14 for Sebi to wrap up its investigation and submit the report. The case has a hearing date of August 29.
The January 24 Hindenburg report, which erased billions of dollars from the market capitalization of the listed firms of the Adani Group, was largely driven by allegations relating to related-party transactions and MPS standards. The agency had previously identified 13 specific transactions that it was investigating to see if they were related-party transactions under the law.
Also read, India Import: After laptops, cameras and printers could also face import curbs.
Adani’s relationship with Deloitte ends prior to Sebi’s report:
The six-year relationship between Deloitte Haskins & Sells and Adani Ports & SEZ was terminated on Saturday due to concerns that the company was unable to thoroughly examine whether certain business dealings, including one that was specifically mentioned in the Hindenburg report, qualified as related-party transactions.
Deloitte gave a qualified opinion on the company’s fiscal 2023 results because, according to Deloitte, Adani Ports declined to have an independent external examination performed to satisfy the auditor’s worries. An audit report with a qualified opinion is one that is not error-free.
The twelve transactions listed in the Hindenburg report were extremely complicated and involved multiple foreign jurisdictions, therefore Sebi was able to comply with restrictions in regards to the MPS-related probe.
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