Adani Group companies saw their shares plunge by up to 17% this morning after fresh allegations against SEBI Chief Madhabi Buch in the ongoing Adani vs. Hindenburg controversy. The sharp decline wiped out approximately Rs 53,000 crore from investors’ wealth, with the combined market capitalization of the conglomerate’s 10 listed entities dropping to Rs 16.7 lakh crore.
Adani Green Energy bore the brunt of the sell-off, sinking 7% to a day’s low of Rs 1,656 on the BSE, before recouping some of its losses. Adani Total Gas followed suit, shedding around 5%, while Adani Power declined by 2%. Other group companies, including Adani Wilmar, Adani Energy Solutions, and Adani Enterprises, also faced pressure, each sliding by around 2%-4%.
Even among the blue-chip Nifty stocks, Adani Ports wasn’t spared, slipping around 4-5%. It emerged as the second biggest loser on the index, trailing only the conglomerate’s flagship entity, Adani Enterprises. ACC, Ambuja Cements and NDTV slipped 2-3 per cent.
While the latest Hindenburg report did not introduce new charges against the Adani Group, it raised eyebrows by implicating SEBI Chief Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch, alleging that they held stakes in Bermuda and Mauritius-based offshore funds linked to Vinod Adani, Gautam Adani’s brother. These offshore entities were purportedly used to accumulate and trade large positions in Adani Group shares.
This revelation has stirred fresh doubts about SEBI’s impartiality in the Adani investigation, prompting political leaders in the Opposition to call for Buch’s resignation and renewed demands for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Hindenburg report’s findings.
The market’s reaction today reflects a broader apprehension, with some participants fearing a replay of the market turbulence that followed the initial Hindenburg report in January 2023. That report had leveled serious accusations of stock manipulation, fund siphoning, and other corporate governance lapses against the Adani conglomerate.
However, despite these concerns, the impact of “Hindenburg 2.0” on the broader market has been relatively contained. The Sensex dipped by 400 points, with heavyweights like ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), and State Bank of India (SBI) leading the decline, suggesting a more measured response compared to the earlier fallout.
