The Supreme Court-appointed expert committee has not found any conclusive evidence of stock price manipulation in shares of Adani Group companies as alleged by US short seller Hindenburg Research, said senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi on Friday.
“Adani Group is beyond any suspicion. There is no wrongdoing found by the Adani Group or by the Adani companies, whether it is on stock price manipulation, minimum public shareholding, related party transaction, or anything,” said the eminent laywer who represented Adani firms at courts.
"It (the report) has also found there is no violation in related party transaction. It found minimum public shareholding requirements of SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) are well-maintained... The most important thing that the committee found is that the prices of Adani Group stocks are stable. They are not the prices before January 24, but wherever they are, they are stable and investors are confident. Adani Group has done a lot to ensure investor confidence," Rohatgi said.
On March 2, Supreme Court set up an expert committee consisting of 6 members to probe allegations of stock manipulation against Adani Group by US short-seller Hindenburg Research.
The expert panel was headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice AM Sapre and comprised OP Bhatt, KV Kamath, Nandan Nilekani and Somsekhar Sundaresan.
The expert committee appointed by Supreme Court said that its remit was not to examine whether the price rise was justified but to ascertain if there was a regulatory failure.
It also said showed that retail investors exposure in the group has increased after January 24, 2023, right after Hindenburg Report came out.
“The volatility in the Adani stocks was indeed high, which is attributable to the publication of the Hindenburg report and its consequences,” the committee said.
Hindenburg, in its report on January 24, accused Adani Group of accounting fraud and stock manipulation. Adani Group in return termed Hindenburg as “an unethical short seller”, stating that the report by the US based research company was nothing but a lie.
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