Adani appoints Grant Thornton accountancy firm for audit to come clean on Hindenburg allegations
Since the January 24 report by the US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research, market value of the group's seven listed companies has halved. The group has denied all allegations, calling them "malicious", "baseless" and a "calculated attack on India".
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FollowAdani Group has appointed Grant Thornton, an accountancy firm, for an independent audit of some of its companies in a bid to come clean of the damning allegations levelled by the US short-seller Hindenburg Research and to assure investors and regulators.
It is reportedly said the audit is primarily to show to regulators like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that the group has nothing to hide and it is in compliance with relevant laws. The audit will specifically look into if there was any misappropriation or repatriation of funds and if loans were used for any purpose other than the one they were intended for.
The audit would go a long way to show that the books are healthy and project executions are on track - something that the investors are keenly watching given the damage to market value that the Hindenburg report has caused.
As the run on its shares continued, Adani Group had on Monday attempted to calm the market, saying its growth plans are intact, business plans are fully funded and it remains confident of delivering returns to shareholders.
Since the January 24 report by the US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research, market value of the group's seven listed companies has halved. The group has denied all allegations, calling them "malicious", "baseless" and a "calculated attack on India".
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It called Hindenburg the "Madoffs of Manhattan", referring to the late financier and fraudster Bernie Madoff. "Balance sheet of each of our independent portfolio companies is very healthy," the group spokesperson had said.
On Saturday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the country's regulators are very experienced and are seized of the matter relating to the Adani Group crisis.
"India's regulators are very, very experienced and they are experts in their domain. The regulators are seized of this matter and they are on their toes as always, not just now," FM Sitharaman had said.
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