Crisis at Adani Group intensifies as Indian activists stage protests

Shares in Adani Port & Special Economic Zone jumped 9% after the announcement.

Members of the opposition Congress party have been urging the prime minister, Narendra Modi, to order an investigation into the Adani Group companies after a US-based short-selling firm, Hindenburg Research, accused them of various fraudulent practices. The Adani Group has denied any wrongdoing.

In Delhi, Congress party workers threw fake currency notes in the air and chanted slogans. Some burned a suitcase plastered with images of Modi and the Adani Group head, Gautam Adani. Some protesters scaled police barricades and were detained and taken away in police vans.

Adani and his companies have lost tens of billions of dollars as investors dumped their shares. Last week, the group cancelled a $2.5bn share offering, promising to provide refunds to investors.

The wild swings in share prices have highlighted concerns over corporate governance, especially as the country tries to woo foreign investors.

On Saturday, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a rare statement seeking to calm investors.

Adani built a fortune in trading and in coal mining and then branched into construction, power generation, operation of ports and airports, manufacturing defence equipment and running a media company.