Adani vs. Hindenburg: How one of India's biggest empires descended into chaos

Gautam Adani, the billionaire chairman of India's Adani Group, was indicted on Wednesday along with seven others in New York federal court for his involvement in a large-scale bribery and fraud scheme.

Following the news, the conglomerate saw shares of its companies nosedive. Adani Enterprises is one of the country's top three conglomerates. It has businesses in many sectors, including ports, airports, renewables and cement.

The latest development comes after the conglomerate spent most of 2023 attempting to move beyond allegations of accounting fraud and stock market manipulation made by short seller Hindenburg Research.

Here's a timeline of Adani headlines in the past year, tracking a series of allegations and counter-allegations since the publication of Hindenburg's report, up until his indictment.

January 2023

At the start of last year, Hindenburg announced its short position in Adani Group, accusing Adani of engaging in "brazen" stock manipulation and accounting fraud, calling it the "largest con in corporate history."

Adani-affiliated stocks saw a sharp sell-off after the report was released, and Adani's net worth plunged by $6 billion overnight.

The conglomerate rebutted Hindenburg's accusations of embezzlement and fraud with a 413-page response, calling the latter's report a "malicious combination of selective misinformation," adding that it has "always been in compliance with all laws."

Around that time, Adani Enterprises kicked off a 200 billion rupee ($2.45 billion) secondary share sale which was fully subscribed in spite of the short-seller storm.

March 2023 to May 2023

In March, India's Supreme Court sets up an independent six-member panel to investigate the allegations made in the Hindenburg report.

Then in May, the court-appointed panel said it has "drawn a blank" in its probe into Adani group, according to Reuters.

December 2023 to January 2024

By the end of 2023, Adani Enterprise shares had recovered from the fallout and concluded the year with smaller declines of 26%.

India's top court in January announced that the Adani Group will not be subject to additional investigations beyond the scrutiny by the market regulator, providing significant relief to the conglomerate.

At the time, Adani took to X, expressing his gratitude for those who have "stood by" the group. "Truth has prevailed," he wrote, adding that "our humble contribution to India's growth story will continue."

Adani subsequently catapulted to become the richest person in Asia again, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in January.

August 2024

Hindenburg released a new report accusing the chair of India's capital markets regulator of having conflicts of interest that prevented an in-depth probe of fraud allegations. 

The report claimed that both SEBI chair Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband had previously held offshore funds that were also used by the Adani Group. Both denied the accusations, saying the report's claims were baseless.

November 2024

Adani was indicted along with seven others in New York federal court, accused of paying over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts that could generate over $2 billion in profits.

The 62-year self-made Indian billionaire expanded his empire through deals and the backing of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to Forbes. Modi has been accused by opposition leader Rahul Gandhi for assisting the Adani Group in securing contracts in Sri Lanka, India and Australia.

Adani now stands in 18th place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.