India's Enron Moment? Gautam Adani slips to No.30, group stocks lose ₹12 lakh crore in 1 month

Adani Group is plotting a comeback strategy focused on addressing investor concerns.

Gautam Adani was the world's third and Asia's richest man a month back but a damning report by a U.S. firm triggered a massive sell-off in shares of his apples-to-airport group, plunging his own wealth by $80 billion and the tycoon slipping to No.30 on the world billionaire index.

Mr. Adani's sprawling conglomerate, which spans from sea ports to airports, edible oil and commodities, energy, cement and data centres, is under attack by U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research, which successfully deflated electric-vehicle maker Nikola Motors in 2020.

Hindenburg, which held short positions in unidentified shares of Adani Group firms through its U.S.-traded debt and offshore derivatives, on January 24 accused the conglomerate of "brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud" and using a number of offshore shell companies to inflate stock prices.

The group has denied allegations, calling them "malicious", "baseless" and a "calculated attack on India".

Sell-Off: Since the Hindenburg report, the group's 10 listed companies have lost ₹12.06 lakh crore, nearly equivalent to the market capitalisation of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) - India's second most valuable company.

Adani Total Gas Ltd - the group's joint venture with France's TotalEnergies for retailing CNG, has lost 80.68% of market value while Adani Green Energy, where the French firm has also invested, has seen 74.62% loss.

Adani Transmission has lost 74.21% in market value since January 24 while its flagship Adani Enterprises is down close to 62%. Adani Power and Adani Wilmar as well as its cement units, media company NDTV and Adani Ports & SEZ too have lost market value.