The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is looking into whether the Adani Group violated rules mandating the disclosure of market-moving information, Bloomberg reported citing sources.
As per the report, Sebi has asked officials at the stock exchanges if Adani Green Energy Ltd failed to properly disclose the US Justice Department’s investigation into bribery allegations, the people said, asking not to be identified as the details are private.
The process of fact-finding is expected to continue for two weeks following which Sebi could decide if it wants to open a formal investigation, one of the people said.
On Wednesday, United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged that Adani and others conspired to pay about USD 265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts for Adani Green Energy, the renewable energy arm of the Adani Group.
In their response, Adani Group has issued a statement calling the allegations baseless, and said, “As stated by the US Department of Justice itself, the charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.”
“All possible legal recourse will be sought,” it added.
There are 5 charges levied by the US District Court on Gautam Adani and seven others. These included conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Securities Fraud Conspiracy, Wire Fraud Conspiracy, Securities Fraud – the 2021 144A Bond, and Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice.