New Delhi: Over a month after it levelled serious allegations against SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch for links with the Adani Group, US short-seller Hindenburg Research, citing local reports, has claimed that the Swiss authorities have frozen more than $310 million in funds of the Indian conglomerate in connection with its money laundering and securities investigation to the firm. The Adani Group refuted the claims, saying the conglomerate has “no involvement in any Swiss court proceedings, nor have any of our company accounts been subject to sequestration by any authority”.
In a post on X, Hindenburg stated, "Swiss authorities have frozen more than $310 million in funds across multiple Swiss bank accounts as part of a money laundering and securities forgery investigation into Adani, dating back as early as 2021."
"Prosecutors detailed how an Adani frontman invested in opaque BVI/Mauritius & Bermuda funds that almost exclusively owned Adani stocks, according to newly released Swiss criminal court records reported by Swiss media outlet," the post, referring to local media reports, read.
Hinderburg Allegations 'Clearly Preposterous, Irrational And Absurd': Adani Group
Refuting the claims, the Adani Group stated that the Hinderburg allegations are "clearly preposterous, irrational and absurd".
"We unequivocally reject and deny the baseless allegations presented. The Adani Group has no involvement in any Swiss court proceedings, nor have any of our company accounts been subject to sequestration by any authority. Furthermore, even in the alleged order, the Swiss court has neither mentioned our group companies nor have we received any requests for clarification or information from any such authority or regulatory body. We reiterate that our overseas holding structure is transparent, fully disclosed, and compliant with all relevant laws," a company spokesperson said.
The Hinderburg allegations were an "egregious attempt by the same cohorts acting in unison to inflict irreversible damage on our group's reputation and market value," the Adani Group said.
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"We have no hesitation in stating that this is yet another orchestrated and egregious attempt by the same cohorts acting in unison to inflict irreversible damage on our group's reputation and market value," the statement read.
This is the second sensation claim made by the Hindenburg Research against the Adani Group in two months.
In August, US based short-seller alleged that SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband had stakes in obscure offshore funds used in the Adani money siphoning scandal. However, their big "reveal" did not create much buzz as it did the last time when the US short-seller had accused the Adani Group of "stocks manipulations".
Dismissing the claims, the Adani Group said the "malicious, mischievous and manipulative" allegations were nothing more than selections of publicly available information to arrive at "pre-determined conclusions for personal profiteering with wanton disregard for facts and the law."
"We completely reject these allegations against the Adani Group which are a recycling of discredited claims that have been thoroughly investigated, proven to be baseless and already dismissed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in January 2024," the Adani Group said in a release.
SEBI Chairman Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband also issued a statement on Sunday strongly denying the baseless allegations levelled against them by US short-seller and asserted that their finances are an open book.