Almost two years after a US short seller alleged Gautam Adani’s businesses had engaged in accounting fraud and stock market manipulation, India’s second-richest man faces federal criminal charges in the US. Prosecutors allege that Adani — whose business rise has tracked the political ascent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi — and several associates were part of a scheme to bribe Indian officials.
Though the stock market regulator, Sebi, launched investigations, it has taken little action in response to Hindenburg’s report and reporting by the Financial Times and others that alleged that Adani manipulated its own shares — which the group has vigorously denied. India did not seize the moment to debate whether its corporate governance standards and market controls were sufficiently robust for a global top-five economy which prides itself on being the world’s largest democracy.