"Matter goes far deeper": Jairam Ramesh after Hindenburg Research shuts operations

New Delhi [India], January 16 (ANI): Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Thursday stated that the closure of Hindenburg Research doesn't mean a clean chit for the Adani Group. He believed the matter goes far deeper, involving abuse of Indian foreign policy, misuse of investigative agencies, and capture of institutions like SEBI.

Our statement on the closure of the Hindenburg Research Group, which, in NO way, means a clean chit to the Modani enterprise pic.twitter.com/KZ6wlqk2qj

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) January 16, 2025

In a statement, shared on X Jairam Ramesh said, "The closure of Hindenburg Research does not, in any way, mean a clean chit for Modani." He pointed out that the Hindenburg report, which accused Adani of financial irregularities, was serious enough to prompt the Supreme Court to set up an Expert Committee. However, he noted that the report only covered one part of the securities law violations, and there are still many unanswered questions.
"The matter goes far deeper. It involves the abuse of Indian foreign policy to enrich the PM's close friends at the expense of the national interest. It involves the misuse of investigative agencies to force Indian businesspersons to divest critical infrastructure assets and help Adani build monopolies in airports, ports, defence and cement. It involves the capture of once-respected institutions such as SEBI whose discredited chairperson continues in her position despite clear evidence of conflicts of interest and financial links to Adani. It is worth noting that a SEBI investigation that the Supreme Court gave two months to present its report has conveniently dragged on for almost two years with no end in sight," he said.
Ramesh also highlighted that the US Department of Justice has accused Adani of bribing Indian officials, and the Swiss Public Prosecutors Office has frozen Adani-linked bank accounts suspected of money laundering and embezzlement.
The Congress leader called it "blatant favouritism and brazen criminality" and urged Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to investigate the matter.
"Without a JPC, the already-compromised institutions of the Indian state will continue to act only to protect the powerful and the PM's friends, while India's poor and middle classes are left to fend for themselves in a deteriorating economic environment," Jairam said.
The founder of the US-based short seller Hindenburg Research, Nate Anderson, announced on Thursday that he has decided to close down the operations of his investigative firm.
Anderson shared this decision through an official statement. He revealed that the decision to disband was not due to any external threats, personal health, or major issues. Instead, it was motivated by a desire to step back from the intensity of his work and focus on other aspects of life.
In January 2023, Hindenburg published a report accusing the Adani Group of financial irregularities, leading to a significant drop in the company's stock price. The group at the time had rubbished these claims. The Adani group has repeatedly denied all the accusations in the Hindenburg Research report.
In June this year, while addressing the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Adani Enterprises, Group Chairman Gautam Adani said they were "faced with baseless accusations made by a foreign short seller, that questioned our decades of hard work."
"In the face of an unprecedented attack on our integrity and reputation, we fought back and proved that no challenge could weaken the foundations on which your Group has been established," he told the gathering.
Rajya Sabha MP and Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani on Thursday alleged that Hindenburg Research's disbanding signals deeper implications, suggesting possible scrutiny by US authorities or fear of investigation for its role in targeting Adani Group shares.
Accusing the research firm of being part of an "attempt to shake India's economy," Jethmalani linked the development to the "democratic deep-state" led by George Soros, terming it an act of "economic terrorism" aimed at destabilising India. (ANI)