Sebi Accuses Adani's Nephew of Insider Trading

According to a document seen by a media house, India's markets regulator has accused Pranav Adani, the nephew of the billionaire founder and a director of many Adani Group firms, of sharing price-sensitive information and violating laws meant to stop insider trading.

According to a report, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) last year sent a notice to Gautam Adani's nephew Pranav Adani, accusing him of informing his brother-in-law about Adani Green's 2021 acquisition of SoftBank-backed SB Energy Holdings prior to the deal's announcement.

Pranav Adani acknowledged that "he has not violated any securities law" and that he was looking to resolve the charges "to put an end to the matter, without admission or denial of the allegations". A media report further claims that settlement terms were being considered.

Adani Group on the Firing Line

The Adani group's most recent hurdle is the scrutiny. Gautam Adani and two Adani Green officials were accused by US authorities last year of allegedly deceiving US investors and paying bribes to obtain contracts for Indian power delivery.

The group has referred to the accusations as "baseless" and refuted them. According to the SEBI document, which revealed call logs and trading patterns were examined during the investigation, Pranav Adani broke insider trading regulations in 2021 by providing his brother-in-law Kunal Shah with UPSI (unpublished price sensitive information) about the SB Energy acquisition.

 The paper further stated that Kunal Shah and his brother Nrupal Shah made "ill-gotten gains" of 9 million rupees ($108,000) through their trading in Adani Green shares. The Shah brothers claimed in a statement issued by their legal practice that neither malicious intent nor knowledge of any unpublished price-sensitive information was involved in the trades.

According to the statement, the relevant information was already widely accessible and in the public domain.

Adani Group-SB energy Largest Acquisition in Renewable Energy Sector

The largest acquisition in India's renewable energy industry to date was Adani Green's purchase of SB Energy on May 17, 2021, for an enterprise value of $3.5 billion.

According to SEBI, Pranav Adani learnt about the upcoming acquisition two to three days before the deal was concluded on May 16, 2021. SEBI had suggested that Kunal and Nrupal Shah also reach a settlement, but the brothers decided to fight the accusations because they felt the conditions were too harsh.

Following the conclusion of SEBI's ongoing assessment of its settlement process, Pranav Adani's settlement plea will be considered.