Sebi gives clean chit to Pranav Adani, relatives in AGEL insider-trading case

Markets regulator Sebi has closed an insider-trading investigation involving Pranav Adani, ruling that there was no evidence he shared confidential information ahead of Adani Green Energy Ltd’s (AGEL) acquisition of SB Energy in 2021.

The regulator had been probing whether Adani — a director in multiple Adani Group firms and nephew of Gautam Adani — tipped off two relatives, Kunal and Nrupal Shah, before the deal was officially announced. The inquiry focused on AGEL trades between January and August 2021 and led to show-cause notices being issued in November last year.

According to Sebi’s order, the suspicion stemmed from a phone call between Adani and Kunal Shah on May 16, 2021, three days before AGEL publicly disclosed the transaction. Investigators initially viewed the call as possible evidence that unpublished price-sensitive information had been passed on.

Sebi ultimately concluded the opposite. The regulator found that details of AGEL’s planned acquisition had already surfaced in media reports on the afternoon of May 16, meaning the information was no longer non-public at the time of the call. As a result, Sebi said the conversation could not be treated as transmission of UPSI.

Market data reinforced the finding. AGEL’s stock had already surged sharply on May 17 and 18 — hitting the upper circuit on one of the days — suggesting investors were reacting to the news reports, not to any undisclosed information. The price move on May 19, when AGEL officially confirmed the deal, was comparatively smaller.

Since the Shah brothers executed their trades on May 17, after the information became public, Sebi said the transactions were genuine and could not be classified as insider trading. With no proof that Adani shared UPSI or that the trades were influenced by privileged information, the regulator dropped all charges and disposed of the show-cause notices.

In a separate ruling, Sebi also quashed insider-trading allegations against Vinod Bahety, Tarun Jain, Rajtaru Enterprises and MC Jain Infoservices in the AGEL matter.