Fraud cannot be obfuscated by nationalism: Hindenburg hits back at Adani

Hitting back at the Adani Group's 413-page response to its report, Hindenburg Research said that the Indian conglomerate's response to its report "largely confirmed" the short-seller's findings.

Hindenburg continues to short Adani Group through its US-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments.

"...we note that the core allegations of our report – focused on numerous suspect transactions with offshore entities – were left completely unaddressed," Hindenburg said.

Read | Hindenburg Research report a calculated attack on India: Adani Group

It also said that fraud cannot be obfuscated by nationalism or bloated response that ignores every key allegation.

Adani Enterprises' $2.5 billion share sale this week has been overshadowed by Hindenburg's report, which flagged concerns about debt levels and the use of tax havens.

The Hindenburg report had questioned how the Adani Group has used offshore entities in tax havens such as Mauritius and the Caribbean islands, adding that certain offshore funds and shell companies "surreptitiously" own stock in Adani's listed firms.

Hindenburg's report also said five of seven key listed Adani companies have reported current ratios, a measure of liquid assets minus near-term liabilities, of below 1 which it said suggested "a heightened short-term liquidity risk".

Also Read | Adani vs Hindenburg: A thorough probe is needed

According to Adani, the research report made "misleading claims around offshore entities" without any evidence whatsoever.

Adani said on Thursday that it is considering taking action against Hindenburg, which responded on the same day by saying it would welcome such a move.

(With PTI inputs)