New Delhi: The US short seller Hindenburg Research has denied that its research on the misdeeds of the Adani Group was a "planned attack" on India, arguing that a "fraud" cannot be hidden by nationalism or a lengthy rebuttal that glosses over the most important claims.
Following the January 24 report by the New York firm that warned of high debt levels at the ports-to-energy conglomerate and the alleged use of offshore organisations in tax havens, the listed firms belonging to the Adani group have lost almost USD 70 billion. In response to these allegations, the Indian company has threatened legal action against the American one.
In response to the Adani Group's lengthy (413-page) statement released late on Sunday, Hindenburg said the firm had not answered 62 of 88 questions and had confused the "meteoric ascent" of the company and the fortune of Asia's richest man "with the prosperity of India itself."—Inputs from Agencies