Adani terms Hindenburg allegations malicious, manipulative of selective public info
New Delhi (PTI): Adani Group on Sunday termed US short-seller Hindenburg Research's latest allegations as malicious and manipulative of select public information, saying it has no commercial relationship with SEBI chairperson or her husband.
"The latest allegations by Hindenburg are malicious, mischievous and manipulative selections of publicly available information to arrive at pre-determined conclusions for personal profiteering with wanton disregard for facts and the law.
"We completely reject these allegations against the Adani Group which are a recycling of discredited claims that have been thoroughly investigated, proven to be baseless and already dismissed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in January 2024," the group said in a filing.
Hindenburg on Saturday stated that SEBI head Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband invested in offshore entities that were allegedly part of a fund structure managed by India Infoline and in which Vinod Adani, Gautam Adani's brother, also had investments.
These investments reportedly date back to 2015, well before Madhabi's appointment as a whole-time member of SEBI in 2017 and the subsequent elevation as chairperson in March 2022.
It said Bermuda-based Global Opportunities Fund, which allegedly was used by entities connected to Adani Group to trade in shares of group companies, had sub-funds. Buch and her husband were investors in one of these sub-funds in 2015.
Citing "whistleblower documents", Hindenburg said, Madhabi and her husband had stakes in both obscure offshore funds used in the Adani money siphoning scandal.
SEBI, it claimed, has "shown a surprising lack of interest in Adani's alleged undisclosed web of Mauritius and offshore shell entities."
Responding to the allegations, the Adani filing said: "It is reiterated that our overseas holding structure is fully transparent, with all relevant details disclosed regularly in numerous public documents."
It went on to state that Anil Ahuja was a nominee director of 3i investment fund in Adani Power (2007-2008) and, later, a director of Adani Enterprises until 2017.
"The Adani Group has absolutely no commercial relationship with the individuals or matters mentioned in this calculated deliberate effort to malign our standing. We remain steadfastly committed to transparency and compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements," it said.
Adani said for "a discredited short-seller under the scanner for several violations of Indian securities laws, Hindenburg's allegations are no more than red herrings thrown by a desperate entity with total contempt for Indian laws."
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
