Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani has said that the report by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research was an attempt to defame the Indian government and destabilise his company ahead of the upcoming eletions in India.
The revelations come a year after Hindenburg Research published a report accusing Adani of "brazen accounting fraud" and "share manipulation".
However, the Adani Group chairman had repeatedly denied the allegations, calling the report "malicious".
Speaking to Sputnik India about Adani's revelations, Sudhanshu Kumar, an economist at the Bihar Institute of Public Finance and Policy (BIPFP), said that after a comprehensive investigation, it has become clear that the Hindenburg Research report was not an investigative or research report based on rigorous exercise, but rather an attempt by a US-based short seller to profit by causing a sudden loss in the market value of a company.
"The damage was done, and the motives other than economic gain may not be completely ruled out. Also, the possibility of a similar hit-and-run act cannot be entirely ruled out," he said.
Kumar further said that despite the impact of the Hindenburg report, the Indian stock market has remained stable and performed well, which also serves as a testament to the robustness of the Indian stock market.
“The outcome of the Indian regulators' scrutiny has positively established the unreliability of reports by short-sellers of this nature. The company, which suffered the impact of the propaganda report, has since recovered, and investor confidence in the Indian equity market remains intact,” the economist said.
This is not the first time Adani has called the Hindenburg report "malicious". In July last year, while addressing Adani Enterprises' annual general meeting, the Indian conglomerate had said that the report was a "deliberate and malicious attempt aimed at damaging our reputation and generating profits through a short-term drive-down of our stock prices".