NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India has recently denied requests for a new panel to be formed to investigate fraud allegations made by a US investment research firm against the businesses owned by billionaire Gautam Adani.
According to the BBC, Hindenburg Research accused Adani’s firm of “brazen” stock manipulation and accounting fraud in January of last year, prompting a court committee to oversee an investigation by India’s market regulator in March.
However, the panel stated in May that it had “drawn a blank,” and the Indian top court has requested the regulator to complete its investigation within three months.
In response to the ruling, Adani, who has always denied any wrongdoing and called the report “malicious,” said that “truth had prevailed.”
Petitioners claimed that certain members of the court-appointed panel looking into the claims had a “conflict of interest” and that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), India’s market watchdog, was not carrying out its mandate appropriately.
Chief Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud rejected their appeal, stating that there were “no grounds” to move the probe to a special panel and ordering Sebi to finish it as soon as possible.
“The power to transfer investigation must be exercised in exceptional circumstances. Such powers cannot be exercised in the absence of cogent justifications,” he said.
The court-appointed panel’s members were not found to have a conflict of interest, and newspaper reports and third-party investigations cannot be used as conclusive evidence to challenge Sebi’s finding, he added.
Hindenburg accused Adani of “pulling the largest con in corporate history” by owning companies in offshore tax havens like Mauritius and the Caribbean.
The report also claimed Adani companies had “substantial debt”, putting the entire group on a “precarious financial footing.”
The allegations against Adani Group led to a market meltdown in India, with over $100 billion in market value wiped off their companies. However, their stocks have since rebounded and experienced a price increase before Wednesday’s verdict.
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