Hindenburg 2.0: From Adani to SEBI, Here's a Timeline of What has Happened So Far

Adani Group's shares were once again in the spotlight on Monday as the US-based short-seller Hindenburg came out with another set of allegations. However, this time it was not Adani but the domestic market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) which was on the radar. Hindenburg accused the market watchdog's chief Madabhi Puri Buch of being involved in the siphoning of funds.

While Sebi's chief has dismissed the latest allegations by calling it an attempt at "character assassination", the short-seller countered with further accusations by posting a detailed thread on X. Here's a timeline of what has happened so far-

24 January 2023: Hindenburg Research released a report titled "Adani Group: How The World's 3rd Richest Man Is Pulling the Largest Con in Corporate History." The company accused the Adani conglomerate of stock manipulation and accounting fraud. This pushed the shares of the company into the red territory.

26 January 2023: The conglomerate responded to the report by calling it "baseless". The share price of Adani Group's flagship company, Adani Enterprises, fell sharply on the bourses. Other companies under the conglomerate also followed a similar trail and declined sharply.

1 February 2023: Adani Enterprises cancelled its Rs 20,000 crore follow-on public offer (FPO), despite the public offer being fully subscribed.

Meanwhile, a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Supreme Court asking for the formation of a committee to investigate the claims of Hindenburg.

At the same time, Credit Suisse stopped accepting bonds from Adani Group companies as collateral for margin loans to private banking clients.

2 March 2023: The Supreme Court told the market watchdog to wrap up its probe into the Hindenburg allegations within two months. The court also told Sebi to check whether there was any stock price manipulation or financial wrongdoings in the matter.

8 May 2023: The six-member expert panel appointed by the Supreme Court to investigate the claims of the US-based research firm, reported that there was no "evident pattern of manipulation" in the Adani Group's companies. No regulatory failures were found.

17 May 2023: The Court extended SEBI’s deadline to submit its investigation report to 14 August 2023, after the market watchdog requested additional time owing to delays in obtaining information from external agencies.

25 August 2023: SEBI submitted a status report on its investigation. Out of 24 investigations related to the Adani-Hindenburg matter, 22 were final and 2 were interim, according to the status report.

24 November 2023: The Supreme Court reserved its verdict after hearing a series of pleas related to the Hindenburg allegations against the Adani Group.

3 January 2024: The Supreme Court granted Sebi an additional three months to complete its investigation into the Adani Group allegations by Hindenburg Research. The Court decided against ordering a Special Investigation Team (SIT) or Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, instead directing the market watchdog to continue its inquiry into the alleged violations.

10 January 2024: The Adani Group made a strong recovery as most stocks within the conglomerate had rebounded from their previous losses. Gautam Adani regained its position among the world's richest individuals.

June 2024: By June, Adani Group’s share prices were back to where they were before the Hindenburg report. The conglomerate announced plans to invest over $100 billion (around Rs 8.34 lakh crore) in energy and manufacturing projects.

2 July 2024: Hindenburg Research revealed that Sebi had slapped them with a show cause notice for allegedly breaching Indian regulations. They also mentioned Kotak Bank in their response.

10 August 2024: Hindenburg Research posted a cryptic message on social media stating, "Something big soon India".

The same day, Hindenburg alleged that Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch (a senior advisor at Blackstone) had investments in an offshore firm reportedly involved in the Adani case.

11 August 2024: Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband responded with a joint statement, calling the allegations baseless. They also stated that their financial records were an "open book," and the short-seller's allegations were no less than an attempt at "character assassination."

Adani Group also released a statement, "We completely reject these allegations against the Adani Group which are a recycling of discredited claims that have been thoroughly investigated, proven to be baseless and already dismissed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in January 2024."

12 August 2024: Hindenburg released a detailed social media thread, arguing that Sebi chairperson Madhabi Buch’s response "includes several important admissions and raises numerous new critical questions".