Senior lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani has accused KMIL of a "smoking gun" in the Hindenburg episode, alleging a "Chinese connection" that commissioned a report that caused Adani Group shares to plummet. Sebi revealed that Kingdon Capital Management LLC, a foreign portfolio investor, indirectly helped Hindenburg target Adani Enterprises Ltd. Jethmalani's "smoking gun" is Mark Kingdon's wife, Anla Cheng, a Chinese-American with significant shares in Kingdon Master Fund.
She is a lobbyist for Chinese interests in the US and was the CEO of #SupChina, a pro-China media initiative. Jethmalani suggested that Cheng and Kingdon's actions were driven by the Adani Group blocking Chinese interests worldwide, including outbidding Chinese firms for Israel's Haifa Port and coal projects near Sri Lanka's Jaffna. Sebi accused the organization of misrepresentations and selective disclosures to cause panic in Adani share prices.
Hindenburg denied
informing Kingdon about the report before it was released and claimed Kingdon
did not share trading information with them. It was also claimed that Kotak
Mahindra Group created and oversaw the offshore fund structure used by its
investor partner to short Adani stocks. However, Kotak Mahindra Bank denied the
claim, stating that Hindenburg has never been a client of the firm or an investor
in the fund.