Regulator notices citing ‘lapses’ received by group ‘trivial’: Adani CFO

The finance chief of the Adani Group conglomerate on Tuesday deemed some of the Indian market regulator notices received by group firms citing alleged regulatory lapses as “trivial” in nature.

Led by billionaire Gautam Adani, the group has faced regulatory challenges in India since a report by short seller Hindenburg Research in January 2023. It accused group firms of improper use of tax havens and stock manipulation which sparked a $150 billion meltdown in the market value of group firms.

The Adani Group denied any wrongdoing.

Then last month, flagship firm Adani Enterprises and other group companies disclosed they had received notices from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) about alleged violations including non-compliance with certain provisions for listed companies.

“Some (notices) are trivial,” Chief Financial Officer Jugeshinder Singh told a media briefing in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

He referred to one such query he himself received relating to his share trading history in relation to the time that GQG Partners invested in the group last year.

“I don’t even have a demat account. They were very surprised to find out that I don’t have a demat account,” he said, referring to a trading account.

“So that ends there. So they were these kinds of procedural things. They have to do something, they couldn’t find anything.”

GQG and SEBI did not respond to Reuters’ requests for immediate comment.

Adani since the Hindenburg report has attracted investment from investors including GQG and Abu Dhabi conglomerate International Holding.

Group companies said the notices they received were related to disclosure rules and related party transactions, but they have not provided detail regarding the alleged violations or the parties involved.

Adani Enterprises said the notices had no “material consequential effect” for relevant financial statements and there was “no material non-compliance of applicable laws and regulations”.

INFRASTRUCTUREAlso on Tuesday, Singh said the group would increase spending in fiscal year 2025 by 85%, to 1.3 trillion rupees ($15.6 billion), as it prepares to capitalise on an expected boom in infrastructure development.