Short-seller firm Hindenburg Research promises another big report soon

The infamous short-selling investment research firm Hindenburg Research has promised to release another “big” report exposing alleged fraud and business malpractice.

“New report soon, another big one,” New York-based Hindenburg wrote in a tweet on Wednesday, minutes after US markets closed. The firm did not provide further details and did not immediately respond to a query from DailyMail.com.

Far from being an impartial watchdog, Hindenburg benefits from taking large positions in the companies he reports on, betting their shares will plunge as markets digest the investigation.

However, Hindenburg’s investigation previously led to criminal charges and convictions, including that of Nikola founder Trevor Milton, who was found guilty of misleading investors with exaggerated claims about his electric truck company.

Hindenburg’s latest target was Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, in a January report alleging that his conglomerate Adani Group “has engaged in a brazen scheme of stock manipulation and accounting fraud over the course of decades.”

Adani Group vehemently denied the claims and expressed shock at the allegations, which wiped billions off the company’s market capitalization and its founder’s net worth.

Since the beginning of the year, Adani Group shares are down more than 50 percent, and Gautam Adani has lost an estimated net worth of $62 billion, falling from the third-richest person in the world to number 21 on the Billionaires Index. Bloomberg.

However, Hindenburg’s report accusing the Adani Group of stock manipulation and misuse of tax havens, noting “substantial” debt levels, has not been tested in court.

Adani Group criticized the allegations as “a malicious combination of targeted misinformation and outdated, unsubstantiated and discredited allegations that have been proven and rejected by India’s highest courts.

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Earlier this month, the Adani Group tried to reassure investors by announcing that Gautam Adani and his family had prepaid all of the company’s equity-backed loans.

Founded in 2017 by Nathan Anderson, Hindenburg Research is a forensic financial investigation firm that looks for corporate fraud, corruption or misconduct.

It is named after the high-profile 1937 tragedy of the Hindenburg airship igniting while flying toward New Jersey, an incident the company describes as the “epitome of a totally preventable, man-made disaster.”

Hindenburg says he looks for similar “man-made disasters” in financial markets “before they attract more unsuspecting victims.”

Hindenburg’s latest target was Indian billionaire Gautam Adani (above), in a January report alleging that his conglomerate Adani Group “has engaged in a brazen scheme of stock manipulation and accounting fraud over the course of decades.”

Since the start of the year, Adani Group shares are down more than 50 percent, and Gautam Adani has lost an estimated net worth of $62 billion.

The company typically spends months on its investigations, poring over financial disclosures and speaking with current and former employees.

The company invests its own capital and distributes its reports to limited partners who, together with Hindenburg, take short positions in the target companies.

Hindenburg’s most famous report came in 2020, when he accused the Nikola founder of making misleading claims to seal partnerships with major auto companies eager to catch up with Tesla.

Among his accusations, Hindenburg accused Nikola of setting up a video showing one of his trucks driving down a highway, in an attempt to calm investors concerned about product deadlines.

Hindenburg said the video actually showed the truck rolling down the hill after it was towed to the top.

Nikola and its founder, Trevor Milton, soon received grand jury subpoenas from state and federal prosecutors in Manhattan.

The Securities and Exchange Commission also issued subpoenas to Nikola’s directors shortly after the report.

Nikola, in late 2021, agreed to pay $125 million to settle SEC charges of defrauding investors by misleading them about its products, technical advances, and business prospects.

Hindenburg’s most famous report came in 2020, when he accused Nikola founder Trevor Milton (center) of making misleading claims to seal partnerships with major auto companies.

Milton was convicted in October of misleading investors with exaggerated claims about his company’s progress in producing zero-emissions 18-wheeler trucks powered by electricity or hydrogen.

In December, Milton asked the judge to vacate his conviction, saying a juror who decided the case concealed his bias against the ultra-rich.

Milton’s sentencing has been delayed until June 21 while the court considers his claims and opposing arguments from prosecutors.

Meanwhile, he remains free on $100 million bail.