New Delhi, Mar 28 (EFE).- Shares of Adani Group firms, owned by the embattled Indian tycoon Gautam Adani, fell further on Tuesday after a report alleged that the energy-to-ports conglomerate may have falsely declared that it had fully paid off its share-backed debts.
Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship firm, was trading at INR 1,602 ($19.49) at the close of the day, down from INR 1,727 ($21.02) when the stocks opened in the morning.
Adani Ports tanked by 5.18 percent, while other related firms experienced similar drops.
The NSE and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the main markets in India, said they had sought a reply from Adani Enterprises after a report indicated that it had “not been fully paid off” the loan despite the claim of “complete” repayment of $2.15 billion in share-backed debt.
The report based its finding on the premise that “regulatory filings show that banks have not released a significant portion of the promoters’ shares held as collateral.”
The report claimed the group’s loan repayments came amid lenders’ margin calls, which may have forced it to repay part of the loan instead of pledging more shares.
The conglomerate is led by billionaire Gautam Adani, who has lost more than a third of his fortune after accusations of fraud on the eve of a large stock market operation earlier this year, according to Hurun, dubbed as the Chinese version of Forbes.
An NSE statement said it had written to Adani Enterprises “to verify the accuracy or otherwise of the information reported in the media and to inform the marketplace so that the interest of the investors is safeguarded.”
“Response from the company is awaited,” the exchange said.
The BSE also said it “sought clarification from Adani Enterprises” and “the is awaited.”
Adani shares began to plummet after a report by the US investment group Hindenburg Research on Jan.25 accused the conglomerate of stock manipulation and stock market fraud.
According to the two-year research report, based on interviews with former executives of the conglomerate and extensive documents, Adani added most of his fortune through stock price appreciation in the group’s seven key companies, which increased an average of 819 percent in that period.
Adani’s fortune made an impressive jump between 2019 and 2022 from $8.9 billion to more than $100 billion.
Indian Opposition political parties have demanded a parliamentary probe led by a joint committee into the fraud allegations.
Meanwhile, the Indian government has avoided examining the matter amid accusations of Adani’s close ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. EFE
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