Adani stocks declined on Tuesday, September 29, following the Securities and Exchange Board of India's settlement of proceedings concerning alleged violations of minimum public shareholding (MPS) norms involving four listed group companies. According to LiveMint, Adani Power was the top dragger, declining 1.3% to ₹193.75, while Adani Total Gas fell 1.1% to ₹588.00 and Adani Green Energy also slipped 1.1% to ₹1,224.00. Adani Enterprises declined 0.8% to ₹2,803.55 and Adani Energy Solutions, formerly known as Adani Transmission, was down 0.7% at ₹1,277.45. In contrast, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) gained 0.6%, showing mixed performance across the group's portfolio.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India has exonerated Gautam Adani, Vinod Adani and other Adani family members from allegations of violating minimum public shareholding (MPS) norms in four group companies, while imposing a penalty of ₹20 lakh each on Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli and Chang Chung-Ling for failure to furnish correct and complete information to the regulator. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, SEBI's 81-page final order concluded that the regulator's investigation failed to produce adequate evidence showing that Vinod Adani exercised effective control over the two foreign portfolio investors - Emerging India Focus Funds (EIFF) and EM Resurgent Fund (EMR), which invested in Adani Enterprises, Adani Power, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone and the erstwhile Adani Transmission. As per The Hindu BusinessLine, SEBI specifically found no evidence to demonstrate involvement of Vinod Adani in decision making process of investments of the two FPIs in Adani Group Companies, stating that any such conclusion would have unintended consequences for implementation of various securities laws in the capital market. SEBI Whole-Time Member Kamlesh Chandra Varshney emphasized in the order that "The investigation has not been able to prove that Mr. Vinod Adani controlled the decision of investment of two FPIs."
SEBI initiated an investigation in October 2020 following complaints received in June and July that year alleging non-compliance with MPS requirements by certain Adani Group companies. The probe focused on allegations that EIFF and EMR held shares in the four Adani group companies between June 2013 and June 2018 and that the investments were made at Vinod Adani's direction. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, the show-cause notice had alleged an aggregate wrongful gain of about ₹1,983.97 crore through the investment structure, with the allegations suggesting that four underlying investors contributed substantially to the investments and that investment advice was provided through Excel Investment Advisory Services, which was alleged to be controlled by Vinod Adani. The regulator examined allegations concerning business and financial relationships involving Vinod Adani, Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli and Chang Chung-Ling, noting that "Merely based on business or financial relationship," it could not be held that Vinod Adani was in control of the entities. Chang Chung-Ling's denial of any relationship "points towards a deliberate attempt to mislead investigation."
Under the settlement terms, each of the four companies and their respective directors agreed to pay ₹37.05 lakh, taking the combined settlement amount to ₹1.48 crore. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, the settlement involved a payment of ₹14.82 million rupees to address minimum public float rules. The amounts were to be paid jointly and severally by each company and its directors. For Adani Energy Solutions, the settlement covers the company along with Gautam S. Adani, Rajesh S. Adani, Deepak Bhargava, Laxmi Narayan Mishra and Anil Kumar Sardana. For APSEZ, the directors covered are Gautam S. Adani, Rajesh S. Adani, Malay Mahadevia, Rajeeva Ranjan Sinha and Sudipta Bhattacharya. The applicants remitted the settlement amounts in August 2026, with SEBI confirming receipt. Along with the group firms, the settlement order also disposes of proceedings against Adani Enterprises Managing Director Rajesh Adani and board member Pranav Adani, among others. The settlement was dated September 28, 2026, with SEBI directing that proceedings arising from the September 2024 and March 2025 show-cause notices be disposed of.
SEBI's final order emphasized that "Once the allegation of MPS violation fails, the subsequent allegation invoking the PFUTP Regulations also does not survive." The regulator noted that "The investigation did not produce evidence of advice contrary to those clauses or evidence demonstrating Vinod Adani's involvement in the investment decision-making process of the two FPIs." As per The Hindu BusinessLine, SEBI specifically found no evidence to demonstrate Vinod Adani positively directed management or policy decisions of the two FPIs, and there was no allegation that Vinod Adani was the source of financing for the investments. The regulator held that "The allegation concerning the shareholding of Opal Investments in Adani Power was not established." Since the foundational allegation of effective control over the FPIs and Opal was not established, SEBI concluded that the consequential MPS violation was also not established. Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli and Chang Chung-Ling have been given 45 days from receipt of the order to pay the penalty of ₹20 lakh each. SEBI acknowledged that "Though MPS violation does not stand established, it was decided to allow the settlement to attain finality." The regulator added that "Settlement of proceeding at sufficiently higher settlement price, without admission of guilt, serves important purpose of reducing litigation."
