4 min readMumbaiSep 22, 2026 07:30 PM IST
Five listed Adani Group companies have settled adjudication proceedings initiated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) over alleged disclosure and corporate governance violations arising from its examination of issues highlighted in the Hindenburg Research report.
Under a settlement order dated September 22, SEBI said Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), Adani Total Gas Ltd, AWL Agri Business Ltd, Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) and Adani Energy Solutions Ltd have paid a combined amount of Rs 1.508 crore to settle the proceedings. The companies settled the cases without admitting or denying the findings of fact or conclusions of law.
The proceedings stemmed from the markets regulator’s examination of allegations regarding related-party transactions (RPTs), disclosures and corporate governance in the Adani Group following the Hindenburg report. The regulator had examined seven Adani Group companies, including Adani Ports & SEZ and Adani Power. The latest settlement order covers five of them.
The settlement amounts recommended by SEBI’s High Powered Advisory Committee and subsequently accepted by the regulator were Rs 76.05 lakh for Adani Enterprises, Rs 9.75 lakh for Adani Total Gas, Rs 9.75 lakh for AWL Agri Business, Rs 45.50 lakh for Adani Green Energy, and Rs 9.75 lakh for Adani Energy Solutions.
The proceedings are separate from the two SEBI orders reported in September 2025, in which the regulator dismissed allegations of stock manipulation, fraudulent or unfair trade practices and certain related-party transactions involving Gautam Adani, Rajesh Adani, Adani Ports, and Adani Power. The markets regulator had said the allegations in those proceedings could not be established.
What SEBI alleged against five Adani firms
In the case of Adani Enterprises, SEBI alleged that the related-party transactions between Adani Estates Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of AEL, and Vakoder Investment Ltd, a related-party; were not disclosed in the company’s annual report for 2012-13 as required under the applicable accounting standard.
AEL also proceeded against over audit and limited-review reports signed by audit firms that did not hold valid Peer Review Certificates at the relevant time. Similar allegations relating to limited-review reports were made against Adani Total Gas and AWL Agri Business.
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Adani Green Energy was proceeded against over its audit report for 2018-19 and limited-review reports for certain quarters between 2018 and 2019, which SEBI said were signed by Dharmesh Parikh & Co LLP without a valid Peer Review Certificate.
Adani Energy Solutions, formerly Adani Transmission, faced proceedings over its June 2015 limited-review report on similar grounds.
The companies subsequently informed SEBI that the amounts had been remitted, and the regulator confirmed receipt.
The settlement does not amount to an admission of the alleged violations by the five companies. Under the settlement mechanism, the applicants agreed to pay the specified amounts and bring the adjudication proceedings to an end without admitting or denying the findings or legal conclusions.
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SEBI’s order also makes clear that the regulator retains the power to restore or initiate enforcement proceedings if representations made during the settlement process are found to be untrue, undertakings are breached or a discrepancy is found in arriving at settlement terms.
What SEBI had said earlier
The latest order needs to be read separately from SEBI’s September 2025 orders concerning allegations made by Hindenburg. The markets regulator had earlier dismissed allegations of stock manipulation and siphoning of funds against Gautam Adani, Rajesh Adani and certain group companies. It said the transactions under examination were genuine business dealings, and that the relevant transactions did not constitute related-party transactions under the rules applicable at the time.
However, those orders did not address several other allegations raised by Hindenburg, including questions concerning minimum public shareholding, certain foreign portfolio investors, and offshore entities linked to Vinod Adani. The September 22 settlement order therefore closes a specific set of adjudication proceedings concerning disclosure, audit-report and governance-related alleged violations. It should not be construed as a blanket finding on every allegation contained in the Hindenburg report.
