Not long ago, the Adani Group seemed unstoppable. The Indian conglomerate – whose activities span power generation, mining and major infrastructure – had been growing rapidly, reaching $260 billion in market value in 2022. The company’s founder, Gautam Adani, was the world’s third richest man and a key ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Then in January 2023, the investment firm Hindenburg Research released a report, accusing the Adani Group of large-scale stock market manipulation and accounting fraud.1 As details emerged, Adani’s share price tumbled. As of March 2023, $150 billion has been wiped off the company’s value, and Mr Adani himself has slid from third to thirtieth in the global rich list.2
