New Delhi: India’s market regulator SEBI has “very nearly” completed its probe into the Adani Group’s possible violations of securities law, it said in a filing to the Supreme Court on Friday, according to the news agency Reuters.SEBI said it has been investigating 24 transactions involving the Adani Group’s listed companies – which lost more than $100 billion in market capitalisation this year after the US-based short seller Hindenburg Research accused it of stock manipulation and accounting fraud. Of these, the findings in 22 have been finalised.SEBI said in the court filing that it is prepared to take any action if the findings so require.Of the 24 transactions, 13 Adani Group dealings were investigated for possible violations of related-party transaction rules. The market regulator’s investigation on some offshore deals covered 12 “foreign portfolio investors who were public shareholders of Adani group companies”, according to Reuters.But since some entities related to these investors are located in tax haven jurisdictions, “establishing the economic interest shareholders of the 12 FPIs remains a challenge”, SEBI said. It has sought information from five foreign countries on this issue, the filing says.According to the Economic Times, SEBI also probed two cases on stock price manipulation and one each on minimum public holding norms, foreign portfolio investors, the takeover code and trading before and after the Hindenburg report was released.“The scope of the investigation on related-party transactions was to ascertain allegations relating to possible material misrepresentation in financial statements, misstatements, attempts to circumvent regulations and fraudulent transactions, if any, under various SEBI rules,” the court filing said, according to ET.The regulator said it carried out a “holistic analysis” in relation to alleged price volume manipulation in seven Adani Group stocks. it also examined “whether the short positions taken by certain entities in Adani Group companies were unusual around the time the report was released”.SEBI’s investigation into the Adani Group began after a Supreme Court order. The regulator will submit its findings to a six-member panel, also constituted by the top court.
