$310 million in six Swiss bank accounts relating to Adani frozen

Hindenburg Research on Thursday, September 12, made new allegations against the Adani Group. Hindenburg said that Swiss authorities have frozen more than $310 million (about Rs 2602 crore) from 6 Swiss bank accounts linked to the Adani Group.

Hindenburg has made these allegations citing a news report by Swiss media outlet Gotham City. The report states that the Swiss authorities have frozen this amount as part of a money laundering and securities fraud investigation.

The Swiss media outlet reported, according to Swiss criminal court records, that prosecutors detailed how people associated with Adani invested in the OPEC BVI / Mauritius and Bermuda Fund. This fund mainly held stocks of Adani Group.

However, late Thursday night, Adani Group called all these allegations false. The group said that all this is being done to bring down their market value.

Adani Group called the allegations absurd and irrational

In its response, Adani Group clarified that they are not involved in any Swiss court proceedings. Neither have the companies of their group been mentioned in any such court document nor have they received any request for clarification.

Adani Group said - The allegations are clearly absurd and irrational. We have no hesitation in saying that this is an attempt to damage the reputation and market value of our group. The group said that their foreign holding structure is transparent and in line with all laws.

SEBI Chairperson was also accused of being associated with Adani Group

Earlier, Hindenburg had made serious allegations against the Chairperson of the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Hindenburg had claimed in its report that Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhawal Buch have a stake in an offshore company linked to the Adani Group.

Buch had described these allegations as "baseless" and an attempt at "character assassination". The SEBI chairperson had expressed her willingness to declare all financial records. In a joint statement with her husband Dhawal Buch, she said, 'Our life and finances are an open book.'

Allegations like money laundering, share manipulation were leveled against Adani Group

On January 24, 2023, Hindenburg Research published a report on Adani Group. After the report, there was a huge decline in the shares of the group. However, there was a recovery later. Regarding this report, the Indian stock market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) also sent a 46-page show cause notice to Hindenburg.

In a blog post published on July 1, 2024, Hindenburg Research said that the notice states that it has violated the rules. The company said, SEBI has alleged that Hindenburg's report contains some false statements to mislead readers. Responding to this, Hindenburg had made several allegations against SEBI itself.

After the report, Adani Enterprises' share fell 59%

On January 24, 2023 (January 25 as per Indian time), the share price of Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of Adani Group, was Rs 3442. On January 25, it fell 1.54% to close at Rs 3388. On January 27, the share price fell 18% to Rs 2761. By February 22, it had fallen 59% to Rs 1404. However, later the stock saw recovery.

However, Adani denied allegations of any wrongdoing. In such a situation, Adani Group also cancelled its follow-on public offer of Rs 20,000 crore. The Supreme Court formed a 6-member committee to investigate the case and SEBI also investigated the matter.

After the court's decision, Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani had said, 'The court's decision shows that truth has prevailed.'