Securities fraud by the 'Madoffs of Manhattan', says Adani group

Terming Hindenburg Research's conduct a “securities fraud”, the Adani group on Sunday night said it was shocked and deeply disturbed to read the report published by the “Madoffs of Manhattan”. It further said the report by Hindenburg Research was nothing but a lie.

In a 413-page document, Adani retaliated against the American short-seller, saying the document was a “malicious combination of selective misinformation and concealed facts relating to baseless and discredited allegations to drive an ulterior motive”.

“This is rife with conflict of interest and intended only to create a false market in securities to enable Hindenburg, an admitted short seller, to book massive financial gain through wrongful means at the cost of countless investors. It is tremendously concerning that the statements of an entity sitting thousands of miles away, with no credibility or ethics has caused a serious and unprecedented adverse impact on our investors,” the Adani group statement said.

The mala fide intention underlying the report were apparent given its timing when Adani Enterprises Limited is undertaking one of the largest ever further public offerings of equity shares in India, the group said.

"This is not merely an unwarranted attack on any specific company but a calculated attack on India, the independence, integrity and quality of Indian institutions, and the growth story and ambition of India," it said.

The company said there are three key themes from the Hindenburg Report like selective and manipulative presentation of matters already in the public domain to create a false narrative.

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The report completely ignored or deliberated disregard the applicable legal and accounting standards as well as industry practice and showed contempt for the Indian institutions including the regulators and the judiciary, the group's statement said.

The Adani group said the report has been put out with the admitted intent of Hindenburg (holding short positions in various listed companies of the Adani portfolio through US traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivatives, along with other non-Indian-traded reference securities) to profiteer at the cost of its shareholders and public investors.

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Hindenburg has not published this report for any altruistic reasons but purely out of selfish motives and in flagrant breach of applicable securities and foreign exchange laws," it said. "The report is neither 'independent' nor 'objective' nor 'well researched'."

To read Adani Group's full response, click here.