'What happened to SEBI's previous investigation into Adani', asks Cong leader

As the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is reportedly investigating the allegations made against the Adani group by the US-based Hindenburg Research Congress leader Praveen Chakravarty on Tuesday raised questions on the similar investigations that were reportedly conducted by the market regulator in 2021.

Chakravarty added that the issues raised by Hindenburg now were the same as when SEBI started investigating the business conglomerate two years ago.

"SEBI probing Hindenburg allegations against Adani" @FinMinIndia told Parliament in July 2021 that SEBI is investigating Adani. What happened to that? The issues Hindenburg raised are what SEBI was supposedly investigating 2 years ago. Why is SEBI doing a new probe now?" Congress leader Praveen Chakravarty, who also heads the data analytics unit of the party, tweeted on Tuesday.

While replying to the questions of the Supreme Court regarding the protection of investors during such market volatility, SEBI said that they are investigating Adani Group and will also look at market activities immediately before and after the release of the report by Hindenburg Group.

"SEBI is already enquiring into both, the allegations made in the Hindenburg report as well as the market activity immediately preceding and post the publication of the report," the regulator said in the filing, adding the matter was in the early stages of examination.

In 2021, while responding to TMC MP Mahua Moitra in Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary had said that SEBI is reportedly investigating some companies of the Adani Group, with regards to compliance with SEBI regulations.

“Sebi is investigating some Adani Group companies with regards to compliance with SEBI Regulations. Further, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is investigating certain entities belonging to the Adani Group of Companies under laws administered by it,” the ministry said.

SEBI's scope of investigation also included alleged breaches of securities laws related to the prevention of insider trading and inadequate disclosures, people familiar with the matter had told then.

“The scope of the scrutiny is to ensure no insider traded unfairly and, secondly, the disclosures have been made adequately and in a timely manner so that public shareholders are protected from unwarranted risks," said one of the two people on condition of anonymity.

However, no report of the investigation is available in public domain for now.