The Congress Tuesday took a swipe at market regulator SEBI after five Adani Group companies collectively paid about Rs 1.5 crore to settle adjudication proceedings over alleged violations involving related-party disclosures and audit and limited-review reports, with party general secretary Jairam Ramesh sarcastically remarking on the regulator’s “amazing courage”.
“What amazing courage SEBI has demonstrated,” Ramesh said, referring to the settlement involving Adani Enterprises Ltd, Adani Total Gas Ltd, AWL Agri Business Ltd, Adani Green Energy Ltd and Adani Energy Solutions Ltd. The proceedings were among matters examined by the Securities and Exchange Board of India following allegations and corporate governance concerns raised in the January 2023 report by the now-shuttered US short-seller Hindenburg Research.
Congress targets regulator
Ramesh said the five companies in what he referred to as the “Modani” conglomerate had paid a “grand amount” of Rs 1.5 crore to settle proceedings involving disclosure of related-party transactions. “Modani” is a term used by the Congress in its political attacks linking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani.
According to the settlement terms, Adani Enterprises paid Rs 76.05 lakh and Adani Green Energy Rs 45.50 lakh, while Adani Total Gas, AWL Agri Business and Adani Energy Solutions paid Rs 9.75 lakh each.
The companies settled the proceedings without admitting or denying the findings of fact and conclusions of law. A settlement under SEBI’s regulatory framework allows proceedings to be concluded on agreed terms without necessarily constituting an admission of the allegations.
What SEBI proceedings involved
The proceedings related to alleged non-disclosure of certain related-party transactions and instances in which audit or limited-review reports were signed by audit firms that did not hold valid peer-review certificates.
SEBI had issued show-cause notices to the companies in February 2024, asking why inquiries should not be conducted and penalties imposed for the alleged violations.
In the case of Adani Enterprises, it was alleged that the company failed to disclose certain related-party transactions between its subsidiary Adani Estates Private Ltd and Vakoder Investment Ltd, identified as a related party, in its annual report for 2012-13 as required under the applicable accounting standards.
The proceedings also concerned audit and limited-review reports for different periods that were allegedly signed by an audit firm without a valid peer-review certificate. Similar audit-related proceedings were initiated against Adani Total Gas, AWL Agri Business, Adani Green Energy and Adani Energy Solutions.
Settlement proposed in May
While the adjudication proceedings were pending, the companies submitted applications in May 2026 seeking to settle the cases without admitting or denying the findings. The proposed terms were considered by SEBI’s High Powered Advisory Committee in June and subsequently accepted by a panel of whole-time members on August 13.
The settlement amounts were subsequently paid, bringing the adjudication proceedings covered by the order to a close.
The matters are distinct from the broader stock-manipulation allegations made by Hindenburg Research against the Adani Group in January 2023. In September 2025, SEBI cleared Gautam Adani and the group in proceedings concerning allegations that related parties had been used to route funds into listed Adani companies after the regulator said it did not find sufficient evidence to establish the alleged violations.
The Adani Group had consistently rejected Hindenburg’s allegations. The US short-seller announced its closure in January 2025.