Adani Settlement Pleas Delayed by SEBI's Review of Processes: Reuters

Moneylife Digital Team 02 May 2025

Investor Interest

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has kept in abeyance pleas by the Adani group and its offshore investors to settle a raft of regulatory charges until internal processes are reviewed, says a report from Reuters quoting two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

SEBI, where a new chief took charge in March, is reviewing rules of settlement pleas, the regulator said last month. A lack of uniformity in the settlement process and unclear rules on the nature of penalties imposed have prompted the review, the first source told the agency.

The review could take three months, after which the Adani pleas will be taken up under new processes, the second source, with direct knowledge of the matter, told Reuters.

Under SEBI's settlement process, investors and market participants pay a monetary fine or agree to regulatory directions without admission or denial of guilt.

SEBI and the Adani group did not respond to emails from the agency seeking comment.

In August 2023, Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), in an article, said that crores of rupees were invested in listed stocks of India's Adani group via 'opaque' funds from Mauritius that 'obscured' the involvement of alleged business partners of the Adani family. OCCRP also reported that two men, Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli (Nasser) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Chang Chung-Ling (Chung-Ling) (Chinese/Taiwan), who are treated as public investors in stock exchange filings, are actually Adani insiders, which is a violation of Indian laws. This also reduced the free float of the stock, helping to manipulate the prices with less funds. (Read: Adani Family Secretly Invested in Own Shares, Through 'Opaque' Funds, Alleges Non-profit International Investigative Media Group OCCRP)

Adani Enterprises says, "Based on the independent assessment, the SC order and the fact that there are no pending regulatory or adjudicatory proceedings as of date, except as mentioned above, the management concludes that there is no material non-compliance of applicable laws and regulations and accordingly, these financial statements do not carry any adjustments in this regard."

The controversial Hindenburg Research's report, inter alia, alleged that the Adani group of companies has manipulated its share prices, failed to disclose transactions with related parties and other relevant information concerning related parties in contravention of the regulations framed by SEBI and violated other provisions of securities laws.

In April 2024, Reuters reported that SEBI found that a group of offshore funds investing in companies under the Adani umbrella have breached disclosure regulations and exceeded investment thresholds. These insiders, preferring anonymity as they lack authorisation to engage with the media, revealed the findings to the agency.

Moreover, the regulator has been scrutinising the relationship between the Adani group and one of these funds to ascertain whether there is evidence of coordinated action with the conglomerate's principal stakeholders—a claim Adani has consistently refuted, the report says.

Earlier in 2024, SEBI issued notifications to about 12 offshore investors associated with the Adani group outlining the alleged violations and requesting explanations regarding their non-compliance with disclosure rules and investment ceilings, as disclosed by the sources to Reuters.

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