US Govt Investigated Hindenburg Allegations Against Adani Before Extending Loan To Conglomerate: Report

The International Development Finance Corporation, a US agency, conducted a detailed investigation into the Adani Group, before extending the firm the funding for the project, the official noted.

The DFC remained satisfied that the allegations made by Hindenburg in its report did not apply to Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd, the subsidiary of the Adani Group which is leading the Sri Lankan project.

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The US government reportedly found the Hindenburg Research’s allegations of corporate fraud against Gautam Adani, the founder of the Adani Group, 'not relevant' and provided the conglomerate about $553 million for a container terminal in Sri Lanka, a senior US official noted. 

The claims made against the Indian billionaire and his company took away about $100 billion from the market valuation of the Adani Group earlier this year. The matter remained central at the DFC and a detailed investigation was conducted into the conglomerate by the American organisation, Bloomberg reported citing an official from the US agency, the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

The report cited the anonymous DFC official and said that the DFC remained satisfied that the allegations made by the short-seller Hindenburg in its report did not apply to Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd, the subsidiary of the Adani Group which is leading the Sri Lankan project. The report by Hindenburg claimed that Adani was ‘pulling off the largest con in corporate history’. 

The official added that the US agency will continue to monitor the company to make sure that the US government doesn’t provide any unintentional support to financial misconduct or any other inappropriate behaviour. The official further said that the US maintained a different approach to infrastructure projects than China.

Notably, the Sri Lankan port deal remains one of the biggest and most prominent infrastructure projects backed by the US government in Asia. The project is indicative of the US’ efforts to counter the increasing influence of China in the region, the report noted.

Meanwhile, the Adani Group has continued to deny the allegations, such as stock-price manipulation, made in the Hindenburg report. So far, official inquiries and court hearings in India have not found any wrongdoing. 

Lately, the Adani Group stocks have been on an upward trend, where the flagship firm, Adani Enterprises saw gains of over 17 per cent, and the Adani Ports stock soared by 15 per cent in the trading session on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hailed the investment by DFC as a vote of confidence for the Group.

Further, Karan Adani, the son of Gautam Adani and CEO at Adani Ports, said, “We see this as a reaffirmation by the international community of our vision, our capabilities and our governance,” while addressing media in Colombo following the deal announcement.