Sebi says all Adani group polls, except one, have been completed

Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said on Sunday it has concluded all but one of its investigations into allegations against the Adani Group.

The capital markets regulator said it has completed 23 of the 24 inquiries, adding that it has sent over 100 notices and 1,100 letters and emails to Adani Group. Rejecting the allegations of inaction raised by Hindenburg Research in its latest blog on August 10, Sebi said it has sent notices to domestic and foreign regulators and examined over 12,000 pages of documents.

“In its order dated January 3, 2024, the Supreme Court observed that Sebi had completed 22 out of 24 investigations into the Adani group. Subsequently, another investigation was completed in March 2024 and one remaining investigation is close to completion,” the statement said.

The wide-ranging investigation was initiated on March 2 on a Supreme Court directive issued in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) petition into allegations made against the group by US short-term trading firm Hindenburg Research on January 24, 2023.

In an affidavit filed before the district court last year, Sebi had clarified that out of the 24 probes, two were related to stock price manipulation, 13 were related to alleged non-disclosure of related party transactions by Adani Group and eight were related to possible violations of Sebi rules on foreign portfolio investment, material share acquisition norms and insider trading regulations.

The regulator said it had carefully analysed the trading patterns to assess the possibilities of price manipulation. During this, Sebi also investigated the trading of the three FPI groups.

In a press release, Sebi said that once the investigations are complete, it initiates quasi-judicial enforcement proceedings, which includes issuance of a show cause notice for the matter to be presented for an opportunity of being heard. “This culminates in the issuance of an order for hearing, which is then made available to the public. As a matter of policy, Sebi has stated that it refrains from commenting on any investigations and pending enforcement matters,” the regulator said.

On Sunday, Sebi also rejected Hindenburg’s claim that since Buch was appointed chairman in March 2022, Sebi has proposed and implemented a series of regulations on real estate investment trusts, or REITs. She argued that they have “significantly benefited Blackstone as one of the largest REIT sponsors in India, where her husband works.”

“As in all cases where new regulations are introduced or existing regulations are amended, a robust consultation process was put in place to seek feedback and suggestions from the industry, investors, intermediaries, relevant advisory committees and the general public,” the release said.

Sebi believes that any such regulations, regulatory changes or circulars issued in relation to REITs would favour one large international financial conglomerate is inappropriate.

Meanwhile, Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch said on Sunday that Dhaval’s appointment in 2019 as a senior advisor at Blackstone Private Equity was due to his “deep expertise in supply chain management” and “came before Madhabi’s appointment as SEBI chairman.”