Hindenburg - Adani case: Supreme Court panel says SEBI did its job but no evidence yet of violation of rules, price manipulation of stocks
The interim report submitted by the committee before the top court also said that the SEBI has not been able to convert its suspicions into a firm case where any alleged violations can be prosecuted for.
Hindenburg - Adani case: Supreme Court panel says SEBI did its job but no evidence yet of violation of rules, price manipulation of stocks
The Supreme Court-appointed expert committee led by retired judge Justice AM Sapre has prima facie found no lapse on part of markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in the matter concerning probe into the Adani Group on allegations of stock price manipulation and violation of securities rules
The committee was appointed by the top court after the release of the Hindenburg Research Report on Adani.
The interim report submitted by the committee before the top court also said that the SEBI has not been able to convert its suspicions into a firm case where any alleged violations can be prosecuted for.
"At this stage, taking into account the explanations provided by SEBI, supported by empirical data, prima facie, it would not be possible for the Committee to conclude that there has been a regulatory failure around the allegation of price manipulation," the report said.
In a nutshell
The report by the committee said the following:
- 13 overseas entities having suspected links to Adani group promoters have given details of beneficial owners;
- No evident pattern of manipulative contribution to price rise of Adani Energy;
- SEBI should prepare similar charts with data from across all Adani stocks for analysis;
- No case made out as of now on related party transactions or violation of Securities Regulations;
- SEBI has been probing allegations for quite some time now. No regulatory failure on part of SEBI;
- Though no evidence as of now, Hindenburg report has reinforced SEBI's suspicion.
The Hindenburg report had led to a fall in the share value of various Adani companies, reportedly to the tune of $100 billion.
In the wake of the same, the Supreme Court had in March appointed the expert committee comprising six members to probe the fiasco.
The Hindenburg report published on January 24 this year alleged that the Adani Group of companies manipulated its share prices, failed to disclose transactions with related parties and other relevant information concerning related parties, in contravention of the regulations framed by SEBI.
The regulator is conducting its own investigation in the matter as well, while coordinating with the committee.
