Supreme Court panel gives clean chit to Adani Group
The Supreme Court-appointed panel investigating Hindenburg Research's allegations against Adani Group stated on Friday that no pricing manipulation by the conglomerate has been found at this point. There has been no violation by the group, and it is not possible to conclude that there was any regulatory failure on the side of the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), it said.
Why does this story matter?
The apex court had appointed a special committee after United States-based short-seller Hindenburg Research, in its report, alleged stock market manipulation, fraud, and improper use of offshore entities against Adani Group. Shares of the group dropped by $150 billion within weeks following the report. Furthermore, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been accused of being in cohorts with the conglomerate.
At this point, no price manipulation by conglomerate found: Panel
Here's what SC panel said on Adani Group
"In one of the patches where the price rose, the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) under investigation were net sellers. One investing entity that had purchased across the patches had purchased far more of other securities," the SC panel reported said. "In a nutshell, there was no coherent pattern of abusive trading that has come to light," the panel added.
All parties still under investigation
It also stated that market regulator SEBI found that some entities that had taken short positions right before the report's publication had profited from "squaring off their positions after the price crashed." The report further added, "All the parties are still under investigation, and thus the committee, therefore, does not express any opinion on merits."
SEBI asked to submit updated status report by August 14
On Wednesday, the SC granted SEBI a three-month extension to complete its probe into the Hindenburg report against the group led by Gautam Adani. The SC also instructed the market regulator to submit an updated status report on the probe into allegations of stock price manipulation by the Adani Group by August 14.
