India’s Adani hits back at Hindenburg, insists made full disclosure

India’s Adani Group issued a detailed riposte on Sunday to a Hindenburg Research report that sparked a $48 billion rout in its stocks, saying it complies with all local laws and had made the necessary regulatory disclosures. The conglomerate led by Asia’s richest man, the Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, said last week’s Hindenburg report was intended to enable the US-based short seller to book gains, without citing evidence. For 60-year-old Adani, the stock market meltdown has been a dramatic setback for a school dropout who rose swiftly in recent years to become the world’s third richest man, before slipping last week to rank seventh on the Forbes rich list. Adani Group’s response comes as its flagship company, Adani Enterprises, pushes ahead with a $2.5bn share sale. This has been overshadowed by Hindenburg’s report, which flagged concerns about debt levels and the use of tax havens. “All transactions entered into by us with entities who qualify as ‘related parties’ under Indian laws and accounting standards have been duly disclosed by us,” Adani said in the 413-page response issued late on Sunday.