India regulator allows Adani, four group firms to settle public-float violations case (updated)

Adani Enterprises

28/09/2026 16:11

Adds Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone statement in paragraph 5
Sept 28 (Reuters) - India's market regulator on Monday allowed Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and four group companies to settle proceedings on alleged regulatory lapses related to a 25% minimum public shareholding requirement.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said four Adani companies and 14 company directors, including Gautam Adani, had settled the proceedings by paying a total of 14.82 million rupees ($154,403.15).
In a separate order, the regulator said it has disposed of its case against the group claiming certain promoter holdings were categorised as public holdings.
SEBI said it could not establish that investments made through two offshore funds and another public shareholder were directed by Vinod Adani, brother of Gautam Adani.
In a regulatory filing late on Monday, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited said the settlement was reached without admission or denial of SEBI's findings and would have no material financial impact.
In 2020, SEBI had received complaints against the group's flagship company Adani Enterprises, Adani Power, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone and Adani Transmission — now known as Adani Energy Solutions — claiming they were not in compliance with its minimum public float rules.
In its notices to the companies and Adani, the regulator had alleged violations of the public shareholding requirements and related shareholding disclosure rules.
However, the settlement order does not require the companies to make any corrective shareholding disclosures, nor does it contain a regulatory finding on the alleged violations.
The probe was part of the 24 investigations SEBI had undertaken after US-based short-seller Hindenburg alleged in 2023 that Adani group companies manipulated their stock prices through tax havens. Adani Group had denied the allegations.
SEBI has since allowed the group to settle several cases in the last year, although probes are still pending into whether certain Adani Group offshore investors circumvented Indian rules and whether there was manipulation in the trading of the group's shares.
The case disposed of on Monday centred on SEBI's investigations into whether offshore funds whose investments in Adani Group firms were funded largely through entities linked to two individuals — Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli and Chang Chung-Ling — were acting under the direction or control of Vinod Adani.
The regulator's final order concluded there was insufficient evidence that Vinod Adani controlled investment decisions of the funds, including Emerging India Focus Funds and EM Resurgent Fund.
However, SEBI fined Ahli and Ling 2 million rupees each for failing to furnish correct and complete information during the investigation.  
     
($1 = 95.9825 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Jayshree P Upadhyay in Mumbai and Mridula Kumar in Bengaluru; addtional reporting by Nethra Sailesh; editing by Jonathan Ananda and Maju Samuel)
 ((mridula.kumar@thomsonreuters.com))