Adani Group Conclusively Vindicated: Mahesh Jethmalani On SEBI Clean Chit

After the SEBI clean chit on the allegations made by short seller Hindenburg Research, the Adani Group stands conclusively vindicated, senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Jethmalani has said.

Speaking exclusively to NDTV Profit on Thursday, Mr Jethmalani also said the allegations were not meant to target Adani alone and that there's an attempt to "undermine our stock markets".

In January 2023, Hindenburg Research had alleged the Adani Group had used three companies - Adicorp Enterprises, Milestone Tradelinks, and Rehvar Infrastructure - to route money between Adani group firms.

Laying out its conclusions in two orders on Thursday, SEBI said there were no violations, noting that the transactions took place at a time when such dealings with unrelated parties did not qualify as "related party dealings". The definition was changed later.

Making the same point, Mr Jethmalani said, "The Supreme Court had only left one outstanding investigation, which SEBI said they were still probing, and that was whether there were any related third party transactions. You remember that people said that companies of the Adani group had been funded through conduit companies and they were related party transactions. That's been definitively now laid to rest. So the Adanis stand completely vindicated, there's no stain on them whatsoever."

"And on the other hand, the shoe is on the other foot, because I think Hindenburg and those who broke up this entire transaction need to be examined," he added.

On critics saying SEBI may have taken too long with the investigation, he said unravelling the transactions takes time. 

"If matters are disposed of speedily, there is going to be criticism. If matters take a long time, they are also criticised... To say that it took too long or it was too short, I don't think that's an answer to the main allegations against any group," he said. 

'Vested Interests'

The allegations, and others like it, the senior lawyer said, are an attack on the health of the Indian economy. 

"Vested interests in this country always find something to, you know, bandy about - either for publicity or for blackmail, or for short selling, right? That's part of being an open market economy. But the remedy is to go after those who make the false allegations. There's been a lot of investor loss in this company. There's an attempt to undermine our stock markets. This wasn't just an Adani hit. Indirectly, it was an attack both on the investors and the stock market generally and, therefore, the health of the Indian economy. That was the whole game. That's pernicious, and that should be investigated," he stressed.

Stating that foreign forces were also utilised for the hit, the former MP said Hindenburg does not have a great record and there were people behind the company.  

"Hindenburg was a puffed-up entity, which really only did some research analysis. And most of the research analysis was found in certain questions raised in Parliament, right? They actually plagiarised a lot from what was already in the public domain, and which was never taken seriously," he said.

'Investors Hit'

The SEBI clean chit, the advocate said, sends a message to the world that Indian markets are resilient, regulatory agencies do a good job and India has an economy big enough to withstand such "misadventures". 

"This was a concerted attempt to rock a particular corporate entity without realising the consequences that you were really actually, you know, hitting a lot of poor investors. And it's not just foreign forces, there was an echo chamber here as well. That has to be firmly exposed. There were all kinds of people who are inimical to not just the Adani group, but also to India's economy," he alleged.