The Union finance ministry on Monday said that it stands by its statement that the Securities and Exchange Board of India has been investigating some Adani group companies on their compliance with regulations.

The statement came after the market regulator told the Supreme Court that claims that it had been investigating the Adani Group since 2016 are “factually baseless”. SEBI had made the submission in an affidavit to a bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud that is hearing two petitions seeking an investigation into allegations of stock manipulation by the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate.

In a tweet, the ministry said that its statement about the investigation made in the Lok Sabha in 2021 was “based on due diligence and inputs from all concerned agencies”.

The ministry was responding to a tweet by Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh, pointing out that the market regulator’s statement in court contradicted the ministry’s reply in Parliament.

In its affidavit, the markets regulator told the court that the investigation in question involved a probe into global depository receipts by 51 Indian companies. “However, no listed company of [the] Adani Group was part of the aforesaid 51 companies,” SEBI said.

Global depository receipts are certificates issued by banks to represent shares in a foreign company being traded in a domestic stock exchange.

However, the ministry’s reply showed that SEBI was investigating the Adani Group in connection with compliance of regulations. It also showed that in 2016, SEBI had ordered freezing accounts of three funds – Albula Investment Fund, Cresta Fund and APMS Investment Fund – in a matter related to issuance of global depository receipts. These funds own shares in Adani Group companies.

The petitions seeking an investigation into the Adani Group were filed in the wake of a report published in January by American firm Hindenburg Research alleging that the Adani Group have been engaging in stock manipulation and improper use of offshore tax havens for decades.

On March 2, the Supreme Court had directed SEBI to look into whether the Adani Group had violated rules on maintaining minimum public shareholding, whether it failed to disclose transactions with related parties and whether stocks had been manipulated. The court had also set up an expert committee to examine mechanisms to protect the interests of investors

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