Adani Group denies reports of hiring Grant Thornton for audits amid crisis

Adani Enterprises on Thursday issued a clarification on reports of appointing Grant Thornton for audits after the Hindenburg crisis. The flagship company of Adani Group termed it as a market rumour.

Adani Enterprises in a BSE filing said that the said news item appears to be a market rumour, and hence it would be inappropriate on their part to comment on it. Adani Enterprises also added they wished to confirm that they have made and will continue to make disclosures in compliance with the obligations under the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 and the firm’s agreements with the stock exchanges.

Media reports suggested that the embattled Adani Group had appointed accountancy firm Grant Thornton for an independent audit of a few of its companies to come clean after the allegations levelled by the US short-seller Hindenburg Research and to assure investors and regulators.

According to the report, the audits will specifically look into if there was any misappropriation or repatriation of funds and if loans were used for any purpose other than the one they were intended for.

The audit, they said, would go a long way to show that the books are healthy and project executions are on track – something that the investors are keenly watching, given the damage to market value that the Hindenburg report has caused.

The market value of the group’s seven listed companies has halved since the January 24 report by Hindenburg Research alleged that Adani pulled the largest con in corporate history using offshore tax havens and stock manipulation.

Adani Group denied all the allegations levelled by Hindenburg Research and called them malicious, baseless and a calculated attack on India. It called Hindenburg the Madoffs of Manhattan, referring to the late financier and fraudster Bernie Madoff.