Hindenburg fallout: Adani appoints Grant Thornton for independent audit

marks the first major effort by the appointment Adani Group to defend itself in the wake of a January 24 report by Hindenburg that alleged improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation.

Group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, has strongly denied the allegations but investors are worried. Shares of the group’s seven listed subsidiaries have cumulatively lost nearly $120 billion in market value over the past three weeks.

The Adani Group last week said it was considering an independent assessment of issues relating to legal compliance, related party transactions and internal controls following the Hindenburg report. Here is the first news of Grant Thornton’s appointment.

Sources said Grant Thornton has been hired to conduct an independent audit of some of the Adani group companies as the appointment is confidential.

One of the sources said Grant Thornton will look into whether related-party transactions in the Adani group comply with corporate governance standards.

Grant Thornton and the Adani Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Adani Group on Monday sought to reassure investors saying it has strong cash flows, its business plans are fully funded and it is “confident in the continued ability of our portfolio to deliver superior returns to shareholders”. “

But regulatory pressure is mounting. India’s markets regulator confirmed on Monday that it was probing reports by HindenburgAs well as market activity before and after the report was published.

The US short-seller reports that it has identified several “undisclosed related party transactions” by Adani companies, both listed and private, alleging that these are in violation of Indian disclosure laws.

In its rebuttal, Adani had said, “All related party transactions are at arm’s length, properly disclosed and reviewed/audited by statutory independent auditors.”