Sebi puts seven Adani Group companies on notice for regulatory violations
Shares of Adani Green and Adani Energy were up 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively on Friday, while the other companies’ shares were down between 0.1% and 2%. (Photo: Bloomberg)
India’s markets regulator has sent notices of regulatory violations to seven companies of the Adani conglomerate, including its flagship Adani Enterprises, the group said in stock exchange filings.
The regulator began probing the Adani group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, after Hindenburg Research in January 2023 alleged improper use of tax havens and stock manipulation by the group, accusations the group has denied.
Adani Enterprises said on Thursday that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had sent it two notices in the January-March quarter of this year, saying it had not complied with provisions for listed companies and had violated disclosure rules on some related-party transactions.
The company did not give details of the alleged violations or the parties involved.
However, it said that management believed the notices had no “material consequential effect” for relevant financial statements and there was “no material non-compliance of applicable laws and regulations”.
Adani Green Energy, Adani Power, Adani Total Gas, Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Wilmar, and Adani Ports have also received notices from SEBI in the first quarter, the companies said in separate filings to the exchanges this week.
Typically such violations attract monetary penalties or management can be barred from capital markets for a certain period. Such actions are based on the seriousness of the allegations. Reuters could not ascertain the seriousness of the allegations.
A spokesperson for the Adani group did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Shares of Adani Green and Adani Energy were up 0.9 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively on Friday, while the other companies’ shares were down between 0.1 per cent and 2 per cent.
Adani Power said the notices it had received stated that some third-party transactions had not been reported in the relevant years’ financial statements or annual reports, and the requisite review and approvals of such transactions had not been sought.
Adani Wilmar, Adani Total and Adani Green said their SEBI notices concerned the validity of a so-called peer review certificate of their auditor for a previous financial year.
Auditors for Adani Ports, Adani Power and Adani Enterprises have also issued a so-called qualified opinion because of the SEBI investigations.
Pending the outcome of the investigations, the auditors said they were unable to comment on the possible consequential effect on any periods presented in the financial statements and whether the company had complied with applicable laws and regulations.
(Reporting by Jayshree P Upadhyay; Additional reporting by Sethuraman N R in Bangalore; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Susan Fenton)
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First Published: May 04 2024 | 7:55 AM IST