SEBI has accused Pranav Adani, director in multiple Adani Group companies and nephew of billionaire founder Gautam Adani, of violating insider trading laws, according to Reuters.
The SEBI notice, issued last year, alleges that Pranav Adani shared unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI) regarding Adani Green’s 2021 acquisition of SoftBank-backed SB Energy Holdings with his brother-in-law Kunal Shah before the deal was made public.
Call records and trading patterns were analysed during the investigation. SEBI claims the Shah brothers Kunal and Nrupal, subsequently traded Adani Green shares and made profits exceeding Rs 90 lakh.
Pranav Adani told Reuters that he was seeking to settle the matter “without admission or denial of the allegations” and asserted he had “not violated any securities law”. The report further quoted a source confirming that settlement discussions are ongoing.
The Shah brothers, through their law firm, denied wrongdoing, claiming the trades were not based on any UPSI and that the information “was already generally available in the public domain.”
This investigation adds to the growing regulatory scrutiny surrounding the Adani Group. US authorities last year indicted Gautam Adani and two Adani Green executives over unrelated bribery allegations, which the group has dismissed as “baseless”.
Adani Green’s acquisition of SB energy on May 17, 2021 at an enterprise value of $3.5 billion is the largest acquisition in the renewable energy sector in India so far.
Pranav Adani became aware of the impending acquisition two-three days prior to May 16, 2021, when the deal was finalised, SEBI said.
SEBI had proposed that Kunal and Nrupal Shah also settle, but the brothers chose to contest the allegations as they found the terms too onerous, the Reuters report further said.
Pranav Adani’s settlement plea would be taken up after SEBI’s ongoing review of its settlement process is over.
(With inputs from Reuters)