Gautam Adani-led Adani Group on Thursday said it will seek ‘remedial and punitive action’ against investment research firm Hindenburg Research, which has accused Asia’s wealthiest person and his company of ‘pulling the largest con in corporate history.’
Also Read: Who is behind Hindenburg, the company that is shorting Adani?
“We are evaluating the relevant provisions under the US and Indian laws for remedial and punitive action,” said Jatin Jalundhwala, Group Head, Legal, in a company statement.
Describing Hindenburg’s theory as ‘maliciously mischievous and unresearched,’ the statement also said the report has adversely affected the company, its shareholders and investors, besides causing ‘unwanted anguish’ among the citizens of India.
The statement further noted the content of the report was ‘designed to have a deleterious effect on the share values of companies in the Adani Group.’
Thursday’s release is Adani Group’s second on the issue, and comes a day after the first. In the first release, it expressed its ‘shock’ that Hindenburg published the research without contacting it, and described the report as a ‘malicious combination of selective misinformation and discredited allegations that have been tested and rejected by India’s highest courts.’
Meanwhile, politics has erupted in India over the allegations against Adani, with Congress MP Manish Tewari demanding a probe by a Joint Parliamentary Committee against the world’s fourth-richest person. The party – in particular its former president Rahul Gandhi – has repeatedly alleged prime minister Narendra Modi is a ‘crony’ for Adani, as well as Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani, whose net worth is the second-highest among Asians, and ninth-highest in the world (as of January 26, 2023).
