SEBI, intelligence agencies alert on possible Hindenburg 2.0: Sources
Officials believe that the modus operandi could be the same as that of the Hindenburg Group, which published a damaging report against the Adani Group in January this year.
NEW DELHI: Stock market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) coupled with intelligence and law enforcement agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate are on alert after a report surfaced that the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) funded and steered by George Soros and Rockefeller Brothers Fund is said to be planning another attack on an Indian corporate house. Sources told ANI that stock market regulator SEBI is keeping a close watch on investment patterns in various companies to ensure that the money put in by genuine investors remains safe and is not impacted by those with dubious intent.
An email sent to OCCRP remained unanswered at the time of publishing this report. Sources said that the Enforcement Directorate and India's internal security and counter-intelligence agency Intelligence Bureau (IB) is on alert and are closely monitoring the situation to ensure that such a malicious exercise – with the intent of harming the reputation of the country and Indian Businesses does not take place.
Officials believe that the modus operandi could be the same as that of the Hindenburg Group, which published a damaging report against the Adani Group in January this year. OCCRP – as per the information on its website – is "an investigative reporting platform formed by 24 non-profit investigative centres", spread across Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.
According to reliable sources, it is at the final stages of publishing a so-called investigative report on the affairs of the targeted corporate house to malign its image globally. Founded in 2006, OCCRP claims to specialize in reporting on organized crime and publishes its reports in the form of news articles in partnership with European and American media houses.
On its website, it mentions that it received funds from Soros' Open Society Foundation. Another key donor is named Rockefeller Brothers Fund – which too in past has come to the limelight for running subversive projects across the globe. OCCRP often target companies that have raised funds through foreign institutional investors by raising questions over its corporate governance practices, disclosure norms and other basic compliances.
Hindenburg Group launched an attack on Adani Group in January this year through a report that allegedly claimed accounting fraud, stock price manipulation and improper use of tax havens. The report had erased close to USD 150 billion in the Adani Group's market value at its lowest point.
Adani Group has been denying all allegations since the beginning of the controversy. The Adani Group had then attacked Hindenburg as "an unethical short seller", stating that the report by the New York-based entity was "nothing but a lie". A short-seller in the securities market books gains from the subsequent reduction in the prices of shares.