Hindenburg's new salvo against Adani: $310 million in six bank accounts frozen for investigation by Swiss authorities

US short seller Hindenburg Research fired a new salvo against Adani Group on September 12, claiming that Swiss authorities had frozen over $310 million in six Swiss bank accounts as part of an investigation into money laundering and securities fraud.

Citing a news report from Swiss media outlet Gotham City, Hindenburg wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter): “Swiss authorities have frozen over $310 million in several Swiss bank accounts as part of an investigation into Adani for money laundering and securities counterfeiting dating back to 2021.”

“According to newly released Swiss criminal court documents, prosecutors have detailed how an Adani front man invested in opaque funds in the British Virgin Islands, Mauritius and Bermuda that owned almost exclusively Adani shares,” it said.

According to a report by the Swiss media company, the Geneva public prosecutor's office was already investigating alleged misconduct by the Adani Group long before Hindenburg Research made the first allegations against the company.

An Adani front man had invested in opaque funds based in the British Virgin Islands/Mauritius and Bermuda that owned almost exclusively Adani shares, Hindenburg quoted the news report as saying.

In January 2023, Hindenburg Research published a damning report on the Adani Group, controlled by Gautam Adani. The timing of the report, just before the planned share sale of Adani Enterprises, could not have been more devastating, as it quickly led to a staggering $86 billion collapse in the market capitalization of Adani Group shares. This significant decline in share value subsequently led to a significant sell-off in the group's overseas-listed bonds.

In June this year, Adani Group shares were in the spotlight as the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate recovered its total market capitalisation following the damning report by Hindenburg Research, which saw a decline in assets of about $100 billion across all listed companies.

In his latest report on August 10, Hindenburg said it was “not surprising that SEBI was reluctant to follow a lead that could have led to its own chairman.” Both Buch and the Adani group have denied these allegations.

US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research has also questioned the silence of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairwoman Madhabi Puri Buch on Congressional allegations about her advisory firm's financial dealings during her tenure as regulator.

The short seller wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter): “Buch has remained completely silent on all emerging issues for weeks.”