"Cloud That Hung Over Us For 2 Years Has Been Lifted": Gautam Adani On Hindenburg

Gautam Adani has outlined the Adani Group's next phase of growth after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) cleared it of allegations levelled against it by Hindenburg Research. In a message to employees, the Adani Group chairperson said the group would now accelerate innovation, strengthen transparency and build for long-term value.

"Today, a cloud that had hung over us for more than two years has been lifted," Mr Adani said, as per news agency PTI. "SEBI's comprehensive investigation has concluded by rejecting all allegations contained in the Hindenburg report from January 2023."

Acknowledging the strain on employees and their families, Mr Adani likened the controversy to an "agnipariksha" (trial by fire) and urged them to see the past three years as "the spark that built a greater Adani."

He delivered his message against a digital background featuring the Gandiva bow from the Mahabharata. The bow was wielded by Arjuna, one of the five Pandava brothers, during the Kurukshetra war. It is believed to have been created by the gods and gifted to Arjuna by Agni, the fire god, making it a divine instrument of war.

In January 2023, a Hindenburg report accused the Adani Group of stock manipulation, accounting irregularities, and routing funds through offshore entities, wiping out over $150 billion in market value. The group denied the charges, calling them "selective misinformation."

Last week, SEBI said in two orders that it found no evidence of related-party transactions being used to channel money into Adani companies. It also ruled that the deals flagged by Hindenburg did not qualify as related-party transactions under Indian law.

Mr Adani called the episode a "targeted, multidimensional assault."

He praised his employees, "While the world debated about us, our ports expanded, transmission lines stretched farther, power plants ran reliably, renewable projects continued to green the world, airports advanced, cement furnaces fired away, and logistics teams delivered flawlessly." 

The group, he added, had shown "execution under pressure is the truest test of character, and that the Adani character is simply unbreakable."

Looking ahead, Mr Adani listed priorities, including uncompromising transparency, faster innovation across energy and infrastructure, and creating an enduring legacy. "We must build not for today's applause but for a legacy that endures for decades. Headlines fade, but what we create must leave its mark on history," he told employees. "Integrity and transparency must remain the foundation of everything we do-inseparable, uncompromising, and safeguarded relentlessly," he said.

The conglomerate, which has diversified aggressively over the past decade, has regained market value with support from global investors such as GQG Partners and Abu Dhabi's International Holding Company, along with debt reduction measures. Adani Enterprises shares are up more than 80 per cent year-to-date, outpacing the Nifty 50.

Signing off his message with "Satyameva Jayate, Jai Hind," Mr Adani said, "Let history remember the past three years as the spark that built a greater Adani."

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)