'Truth always prevails': Adani hails Sebi clean chit, says Hindenburg report was a challenge to India’s global ambition

/ 3 min read
Summary

Gautam Adani asserts that SEBI's clean chit is a validation of the Adani Group's governance. Despite the Hindenburg report, the group saw a 57% EBITDA rise and completed major projects, highlighting its resilience and ambition to lead globally.

Gautam Adani, Chairman, Adani Group
Gautam Adani, Chairman, Adani Group

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, while addressing the fallout from the Hindenburg report in a letter to shareholders, said the truth has prevailed, and that the U.S.-based short seller's report was meant to weaken the Adani Group has instead strengthened the very core of its foundations. “This moment is more than a regulatory clearance, it is a powerful validation of the transparency, governance and purpose with which your company has always operated. And the truest evidence of our resilience lies not in words, but in performance over this period,” he said.

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He exhorted shareholders, saying: "Let this moment not merely restore confidence." The tycoon said January 24, 2023, will be remembered as a morning when India’s markets awoke to headlines that reverberated far beyond Dalal Street. “Hindenburg’s report was not merely a critique of your Adani Group. It was a direct challenge to the audacity of Indian enterprises to dream on a global scale. For your Group, it marked the beginning of a test that pushed every dimension of our resilience,” Adani said. 

He said Hindenburg questioned its governance, purpose and even the very idea that Indian companies could dare lead the world in scale and ambition. “Fast forward, and last week, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) delivered a resounding and unequivocal verdict dismissing the allegations against us.”

Talking about the company’s growth since the adverse report, Adani said the Adani group saw EBITDA growth to ₹89,806 crore in FY25 from ₹57,205 crore in FY23, an increase of ₹32,601 crore, around 57% absolute growth and a two-year CAGR of 25%.

At the same time, he said, Adani Group delivered key projects that have reshaped India’s infrastructure landscape and strengthened its global standing, which include the commissioning of India’s first container transhipment port at Vizhinjam, alongside the Colombo West International Terminal. The group also added 6 GW of renewable capacity, including Khavda, the world’s largest single-location renewable project, and commissioned the world’s largest copper smelter and metallurgical complex. The group has also expanded its energy network with 7,000 circuit kms of transmission lines and 4 GW of new thermal capacity across India and overseas. 

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Adani promised that looking ahead, the conglomerate will further strengthen governance standards that inspire confidence across markets and regulators; accelerate innovation and sustainability, setting benchmarks not just in India but globally; and double down on nation-building, investing in infrastructure that powers India’s long-term growth story.

After getting a clean chit from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in the Hindenburg case, Adani Group Gautam Adani said that a cloud that had hung over the company for more than two years has been lifted. The market regulator initiated a probe after US short seller Hindenburg Research’s January 2023 report accused the conglomerate of using obscure intermediaries to route funds within the group, bypassing disclosure requirements. Sebi’s probe covered the period from financial year 2012-13 to 2020-21 in the Adicorp case and from FY19 to FY23 in the Milestone–Rehvar matter. 

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The capital market regulator, on September 18, 2025, junked the allegations of regulatory violations by Adani Group in their dealings with Adicorp Enterprises, Milestone Tradelinks and Rehvar Infrastructure, ruling that the transactions under scrutiny did not violate securities laws in force at the time.

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