SEBI to update FM Nirmala Sitharaman on Adani probe

Market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), will update the finance ministry this week on the investigation into Adani Group’s withdrawn Rs 20,000 crore follow-on public offer (FPO). The SEBI board will reportedly meet Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 15 to update on the probe.

The SEBI board will brief the minister on the surveillance measures taken by the regulator during the recent rout in the Adani group stocks, sources told news agency Reuters. The conglomerate lost $100 billion in market value since short-seller Hindenburg Research published its damning report on Adani Group. The rout led the conglomerate to withdraw Adani Enterprises’ FPO.

The report added that SEBI is also likely to provide an update on the investigations into offshore fund flows into Adani entities.

The regulator is conducting a full-scale examination of the conglomerate’s stock market rout. It is looking at Adani Group’s trade patterns, irregularities in the aborted FPO and the conglomerate’s offshore funds. The SEBI had recently taken certain measures to ensure that the volatility in Adani share prices remained contained.

The investigation was initiated after Hindenburg in its report stated that Adani Group indulged in malpractices such as stock manipulation and accounting fraud. Gautam Adani and CFO Jugeshinder Singh issued multiple statements, including a 413-page response to the allegations. The company said that short-seller Hindenburg stood to gain from Adani companies rout. Following the dip in shares, Gautam Adani – the once-richest man in Asia – also slipped out of the top 20 billionaires lists in both Bloomberg and Forbes.

(With Reuters inputs)

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