New Delhi:

Lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai launched an attack on Hindenburg Research chief Nate Anderson after reports said the US short seller is under scrutiny for securities fraud.

In documents filed at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in a defamation suit, the head of Canada’s Anson hedge fund, Moez Kassam, said his firm shared research “with a wide variety of sources” including Nate Anderson.

The Market Frauds portal said court documents allegedly showed Hindenburg colluded with Anson while preparing a report.

While short sellers borrow a security, sell it on the open market, and expect to repurchase it for less money after their damning report against the company brings stock down, involvement of hedge funds raises eyebrows as they could also place parallel bets, putting more downward pressure on stock prices.

Reacting to the development, Mr Dehadrai, a noted white-collar criminal law practitioner, said in a post on X, “Big News. Nate Anderson, founder of Hindenburg Research, is now under scrutiny for securities fraud for sharing non-public information with hedge funds before releasing his firm’s reports. Court documents from Canada suggest that Anderson conspired with Canada’s Anson Funds, providing them with early drafts of Hindenburg’s reports.”

“This practice absolutely amounts to market manipulation and insider trading, as it would have allowed hedge funds to profit from anticipated stock movements triggered by Hindenburg’s reports. Shocking revelations in emails between Anderson and Anson Funds . Question is, who profited from their fake report on Adani Stock in India?” the lawyer said.

Big News.

Nate Anderson, founder of Hindenburg Research, is now under scrutiny for securities fraud for sharing non-public information with hedge funds before releasing his firm’s reports.

Court documents from Canada suggest that Anderson conspired with Canada’s Anson Funds,… pic.twitter.com/XkMhMc3cyc

— Jai Anant Dehadrai (@jai_a_dehadrai) January 19, 2025

Mr Anderson – days before Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration – announced he would shut down Hindenburg. This led to speculation especially in India that he wanted to avoid a possible India and US investigation into Hindenburg, whose report targeted the Adani Group and led to huge losses for investors.

The Adani Group refuted all the allegations by Hindenburg, and eventually the group firms recovered and reached new heights in the markets, proving they have the trust of investors.

In the latest development linked to Mr Anderson, if it can be proven that the bearish reports were prepared without disclosure of participation, it can be charged as securities fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“We know for a fact, from the email conversations between Anderson and Anson Funds, that he was indeed working for Anson and published whatever they told him to, from the price target to what should and shouldn’t be in the report. He asked them multiple times if they needed ‘more’. From what we can see in the dozens of exchanges, at no time did he have editorial control. He was being told what to publish,” the Market Frauds portal reported.

It also shared screenshots of some email interactions – which it claims to have accessed through the documents available with the Ontario court – between Hindenburg and Anson to support its charge.

Mr Dehadrai also shared the same screenshot.

In 2020, Hindenburg Research published a report on Facedrive, a Canadian company that went public through a reverse merger as an eco-friendly ride-sharing service, chiding it for being over valued and lavishly paying promoters.

Anson allegedly exchanged emails with Mr Anderson over the report and court documents reveal the hedge fund had knowledge of when the report was to be published.

The filings follow a separate years-long investigation by the US Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. In June, Anson Funds Management and Anson Advisors Inc, without admitting or denying any wrongdoing, agreed to pay $2.25 million to settle SEC claims that they failed to tell clients about payments to outside publishers of bearish research.

With inputs from PTI

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)

New Delhi:

Jai Anant Dehadrai, the lawyer who last year accused a Trinamool MP of accepting bribes to ‘target’ the Adani Group, reacted Thursday to news Hindenburg Research – the United States-based short seller that alleged, with no apparent evidence, financial impropriety by the business giant – will be disbanded.

In a lengthy post on X this morning, Mr Dehadrai also linked Hindenburg shutting down to the return of Donald Trump as the US President on January 20; earlier an influential member of Mr Trump’s party had called out a decision by the outgoing government, led by Joe Biden, to probe certain Adani firms.

Mr Dehadrai also hit out at the Trinamool leader – labelling the person a “crooked puppet who tried spinning a conspiracy-theory (around Hindenburg’s allegations), particularly against the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi)”, and demanded the MP be “subjected to rigorous custodial inquiry”.

“With Hindenburg shutting down mere days before Trump takes office, the message couldn’t be clearer: the attacks on Prime Minister Modi, the Adani Group, and India’s stock market regulator (the Securities and Exchange Board of India) were not just about profit – they were part of a calculated and synchronised effort to sow instability in India,” Mr Dehadrai alleged.

“But here’s where it gets truly interesting. With (Hindenburg founder) Nate Anderson now fully exposed and in retreat – who were the crooked puppets in India who tried spinning a conspiracy-theory around the above mentioned entities?”

With Hindenburg shutting down mere days before Trump takes office, the message couldn’t be clearer: the attacks on Prime Minister Modi @narendramodi, the Adani Group @gautam_adani, and India’s stock market regulator @SEBI_India were not just about profit—they were part of a…

— Jai Anant Dehadrai (@jai_a_dehadrai) January 16, 2025

“Will the former MP who orchestrated many of these attacks in India, particularly against the Prime Minister, be fully investigated and subjected to a rigorous custodial inquiry and global financial audit?” he continued, claiming, “The money-trail from this individual will lead to some of the most notorious criminal entities to have ever existed – worldwide.”

Earlier today, Mr Anderson, in a note on Hindenburg’s website, said the company would be shut down after completion of pending projects. The announcement comes days before Mr Trump is to take office. However, Mr Anderson claimed no threat in the decision to close his firm.

READ | US Short Seller Hindenburg, Which Targeted Adani Group, To Shut

In 2022, Hindenburg Research made multiple allegations of financial impropriety by the Adani Group. The charges were firmly and completely denied by the company, which trashed them as “nothing but lies” and called them “calculated attacks on India and the Indian economy”.

READ | Adani Group Refutes Hindenburg Allegations, Calls It “Attack On India”

Later the Supreme Court gave both the Adani Group and SEBI a clean chit.

READ | Supreme Court Backs Clean Chit To Adani Group In Hindenburg Row

The allegations were recycled in August last year.

They were once again firmly dismissed; the business behemoth’s chairman, Gautam Adani, slammed the “dual assault targeting our financial stability and pulling us into a political storm”. “It was a calculated move,” he said.

READ | Adani Group, SEBI Chief, Industry Leaders Slam “Discredited” Hindenburg

Hindenburg also targeted SEBI chief Madhavi Puri Buch and her husband, both of whom called the allegations an “attempt at character assassination”. This was after the markets’ regulator flagged what it said were violations by Hindenburg and its sole owner, Mr Anderson.

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New Delhi:

BJP leader Amit Malviya late last evening took a jibe at Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, saying that her party has “abandoned” her amid a huge row over allegations that she took bribes for asking questions in parliament.

He also alleged that Trinamool Chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has maintained silence whenever its leaders are arrested. 

“It is not surprising that Mamata Banerjee has abandoned Mahua Moitra. She will defend no one else but Abhishek Banerjee, who is no less delinquent… Several TMC leaders are in jail on serious corruption and criminal charges but Mamata Banerjee has maintained radio silence,” Amit Malviya said on X – earlier known as Twitter.

Trinamool Congress yesterday refused to comment on the controversy surrounding Mahua Moitra. “The party has nothing to say on this issue. We think the person around whom this controversy is revolving is best suited to react to this,” Trinamool’s West Bengal general secretary and spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.

Party sources say that the party doesn’t want to get involved in the controversy and hence will be maintaining a distance.

Mahua Moitra is accused of receiving Rs 2 crore in cash from businessman Darshan Hiranandani for asking questions in parliament.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking a probe into the allegations that Ms Moitra received bribes from the businessman and also gave him her parliament login credentials.  

Mr Dubey yesterday also wrote to the Lokpal and sought an investigation into the Trinamool Congress MP’s actions. In his complaint to the anti-corruption authority, Mr Dubey has said he is in possession of a letter by Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai which laid out “disturbing facts with detailed proof” against Ms Moitra.

“In the letter, Mr Dehadrai provides in great detail how, when and where Ms Moitra received bribes from a businessman Sh Darshan Hiraanandani,” the complaint said.

Darshan Hiranandani has claimed that Ms Moitra made frequent demands of him and asked him for various favours, including gifting her expensive luxury items. The businessman also alleged the MP had given him her parliament login credentials and that she saw attacking the Adani Group as a way to become famous.

Calling the allegations very serious, the head of the Ethics Committee, Vinod Sonkar, said that the committee will first examine Mr Dubey’s letter and Mr Hiranandani’s affidavit. We will then also hear Ms Moitra’s version, who has vehemently denied the charges and said she is prepared for any inquiry.

Ms Moitra has denied the allegations and said she is ready to face questions from the Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee.

BJP leader Amit Malviya late last evening took a jibe at Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, saying that her party has “abandoned” her amid allegations that she took bribes for asking questions in parliament.

He also alleged that Trinamool Chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has maintained silence whenever its leaders are arrested.

“It is not surprising that Mamata Banerjee has abandoned Mahua Moitra. She will defend no one else but Abhishek Banerjee, who is no less delinquent… Several TMC leaders are in jail on serious corruption and criminal charges but Mamata Banerjee has maintained radio silence,” Amit Malviya said on X – earlier known as Twitter.

Trinamool yesterday refused to comment on the controversy surrounding Mahua Moitra. “The party has nothing to say on this issue. We think the person around whom this controversy is revolving is best suited to react to this,” Trinamool’s West Bengal general secretary and spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.

Party sources say that the party doesn’t want to get involved in the controversy and hence will be maintaining a distance.

Mahua Moitra is accused of receiving Rs 2 crore in cash from businessman Darshan Hiranandani for asking questions in Parliament.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has written to the Lokpal and sought an investigation into the Trinamool Congress MP’s actions.

In his complaint to the anti-corruption authority, Mr Dubey has said he is in possession of a letter by Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai which laid out “disturbing facts with detailed proof” against Ms Moitra.

“In the letter, Mr. Dehadrai provides in great detail how, when and where Ms. Moitra received bribes from a businessman Sh. Darshan Hiraanandani,” the complaint said.

In his affidavit to the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee, Mr Hiranandani claimed that Ms Moitra made frequent demands of him and asked him for various favours, including gifting her expensive luxury items. The businessman also alleged the MP had given him her Parliament login credentials and that she saw attacking the Adani Group as a way to become famous.

Calling the allegations very serious, the head of the Ethics Committee, Vinod Sonkar, said that the committee will first examine Mr Dubey’s letter and Mr Hiranandani’s affidavit. We will then also hear Ms Moitra’s version, who has vehemently denied the charges and said she is prepared for any inquiry.

Ms Moitra has denied the allegations and said she is ready to face questions from the Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee.

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court lawyer who had written to the CBI and a BJP MP alleging that he had evidence of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra accepting bribes from a businessman to ask questions in parliament, has now sent a letter to the Delhi Police commissioner claiming that he anticipates “a very serious threat to his life” because of the complaint.

Jai Anant Dehadrai has also claimed a direct attempt was made to coerce him into withdrawing his complaint and threats of harming his reputation were made if he did not agree.

Mr Dehadrai, who Ms Moitra has called her “jilted ex”, was reportedly in a relationship with the Trinamool MP and the two have allegedly not been on the best terms since they parted ways. One of the reasons for the friction between them is their pet dog, a Rottweiler named Henry. Both have accused the other of ‘stealing’ Henry and a battle for his custody is being fought in court. The dog is currently with Ms Moitra.

In his letter to the commissioner, Mr Dehadrai has said he was writing under “extremely distressing circumstances” and was anticipating a threat to his life because of his complaint dated October 14 against Ms Moitra and others, which he had submitted to the CBI and to BJP MP Nishikant Dubey. 

The lawyer alleged that, on Thursday, a direct attempt was made to coerce him into withdrawing his complaint. 

“Threats of reputational harm were also conveyed in case I did not agree. The very specific demand was that I should unconditionally withdraw both the complaints in which very serious allegations pertaining to national security and corruption have been alleged by me against Smt. Moitra and others. It was stated that my pet Rottweiler Henry would be returned by Ms. Moitra to me if I agreed to withdraw the said complaints,” Mr Dehadrai wrote.