Adani Group’s troubles are showing no sign of abating. The matter of American allegations has not even cooled down yet another case has come to light. Many institutions associated with Adani Group have approached the Securities and Exchange Board of India i.e. SEBI demanding settlement in a case. In which four listed companies of Adani Group have been wrongly accused of violating public share holding norms. According to information, Mauritius-based FPI Emerging India Focus Funds (EIFF), which SEBI alleges is linked to Gautam Adani’s elder brother Vinod Adani, had proposed a settlement amount of Rs 28 lakh last week.
Additionally, Vinay Prakash, director of the group’s flagship company Adani Enterprises (AEL) and Ameet Desai, director of Ambuja Cements, have offered Rs 3 lakh as settlement amount. This settlement proposal has been put forward in response to the show cause notice dated September 27 issued by the regulatory body. The settlement application neither admits nor denies guilt. According to the ET report, it is possible that all the Adani entities involved have applied for the settlement, because the legal strategy is made at the group level.
Notice given to these companies also
According to a person associated with the matter, SEBI has not yet considered the settlement applications. Apart from these four entities, the regulator has issued show cause notices to 26 other entities, including Gautam Adani, his brothers Vinod, Rajesh and Vasant, nephew Pranav (Vinod’s son) and brother-in-law Pranav Vora. Another person close to the development, speaking on condition of anonymity in the ET report, said entities associated with the group are contesting the allegations and the settlement application is merely a response.
The person said filing a settlement application is a normal process for any corporate that has been served a show cause notice, and loses its right to settlement if it does not file the application within 60 days. The ET report quoted a person as saying that companies associated with the group have also filed separate replies to the show cause notice.
In which the allegations have been opposed and the documents on which the allegations are based have been requested to be investigated. The notice questions why institutions should not face action, including possible securities market prohibition, for alleged violations.
This thing was accepted in the quarterly results
The four listed companies under investigation are Adani Enterprises, Adani Power, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone and Adani Energy Solutions (formerly Adani Transmission). In its Q2 results for FY25, it admitted to receiving a show cause notice regarding wrongly categorizing promoter shareholding as public shareholding. SEBI has demanded recovery of profits of more than Rs 2,500 crore allegedly earned by Vinod Adani and his associated companies by adopting unfair procedures to acquire shares in four companies.
Notice to Adani’s close associates also
A show cause notice has also been issued to Gautam Adani’s childhood friend and Adani Wilmar director Malay Mahadevia. At the same time, notice has also been issued to Vineet Jain, MD of Adani Green Energy and Dharmesh Parikh, auditor of many companies of Adani Group and personal chartered accountant of promoters. The SEBI notice said that Gautam Adani, Prakash, Desai, Mahadevia and Jain as well as nine additional directors of Adani Group have been accused of not complying with mandatory public shareholding norms in companies on whose boards they sit. Are employed. The name of any company linked to this matter has not been revealed.
When did the whole matter take place?
The matter is of June-July 2020, when SEBI had received complaints by Adani Group companies for non-compliance with the rules regarding minimum public shareholding requirements. Complaints were received regarding non-compliance with minimum public shareholding requirements. According to the rules, the listed company will have to maintain at least 25 percent public stake. SEBI initiated a formal investigation on October 23, 2020, examining transactions from September 1, 2012 to September 30, 2020. According to the show cause notice, the investigation revealed a scheme involving two FPIs—EIFF and EM Resurgent Fund (EMR)—and a foreign investor, Opal Investments, whose shareholding was linked to Adani Group promoters, particularly Vinod Adani. .
He had purchased shares of four listed Adani companies to demonstrate clear compliance with public shareholding requirements. Adani Enterprises shares were acquired during its offer-for-sale (OFS), while Adani Ports shares were purchased during its institutional placement program (IPP), and Adani Power shares were acquired through merger. Were. Three foreign investors also bought shares of Adani Energy Solutions.
Before the OFS and IPP, public stake in Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports was 20 per cent and 23 per cent respectively. Subsequently, public shareholding in both the Adani companies – which includes the stake of two FPIs, EIFF and EMR – increased to 25 per cent.