Mahua Moitra, a Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament (MP) from West Bengal, wrote to the securities and exchange board of India (SEBI) on Tuesday seeking clarification on whether Adani Group is currently under investigation by the regulator.
The MP was following up on her previous letters to the regulator dated 21 June, 2021 and 7 December, 2021. In those letters, the investment banker turned politician had asked SEBI to conduct investigations into Adani Group entities and other related parties. SEBI is yet to respond to those letters, Moitra stated.
Adani Group is currently under fire after American short-seller Hindenburg Research raised several allegations of fraud and manipulation against the conglomerate on 24 January. Since then, the ports-to-power conglomerate has made immense losses in terms of market capitalisation of its companies. However, the Gautam Adani-led group has denied all allegations raised by Hindenburg.
In her letter on Tuesday, the MP asked whether any action was taken against Adani Group if SEBI had completed its investigation. In case the investigation is not complete, the MP from Krishnanagar questioned the validity of the Adani Enterprises FPO, the ongoing share sale of Adani's flagship firm.
Under regulation 155 of SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, a company cannot pursue fast track further public offering if the company's director or promoters are under investigation by the regulator.
Notably, in response to a question raised by Moitra in the Parliament, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary replied in June 2021 that SEBI is investigating some Adani companies and even the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is investigating some Adani entities.
However, the Adani Group had responded to this immediately via a press statement that the group has made full disclosure to SEBI in the past and that they were not aware of any new investigations.
As per this response, and the recent statement issued by Adani group CFO, Adani entities were not subject to any recent SEBI investigations. Moitra acknowledged this in her letter on Tuesday and sought information from SEBI on the investigation reports and the action taken so far.
As the Adani Enterprises FPO closes today, with much better investor involvement today as opposed to the first two days of the issue, it is up to the SEBI to clarify that the share sale took place in compliance of all guidelines issued by the regulator.
