(Reuters) – The U.S Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, New York, has sent inquiries in recent months to investors with large holdings in Adani Group, focused on what the Indian ports-to-power giant told them, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also has a similar probe underway, Bloomberg reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.
The authorities are looking into the representations that Adani made to its American investors following short-seller Hindenburg’s report, the Bloomberg report said.
In January, Hindenburg Research said it held short positions in the group and accused the conglomerate of improper use of offshore tax havens. The short-seller also flagged concerns about high debt, eroding $11 billion in investor wealth.
India’s markets watchdog in May had “drawn a blank” in investigations into suspected violations in overseas investments in the Adani group and a Supreme Court-appointed panel said its ongoing pursuit of the case could be a “journey without a destination”.
The SEC said it does not comment on the existence or nonexistence of a possible investigation. The Eastern District of New York U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the report.
Adani Group and the U.S. Attorney General’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)