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Shares of Adani Group companies fell sharply on Wednesday morning after activist investment firm Hindenburg Research revealed a short position against the conglomerate while accusing companies owned by the world's third-richest person Gautam Adani of fraud. However, social media users alleged that the CIA is behind this research.
In a report revealing its short position, Hindenburg alleged that companies in the Adani Group, owned by Asia's richest man, had "engaged in a brazen scheme of stock manipulation and accounting fraud for decades."
The Adani Group is concerned about falling share prices but is standing by as the sale of shares continues until January 31, two people with direct knowledge of the talks said. But is there any link between Hindenburg and the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency)? Let's understand the whole story.
What is Hindenburg research?
Hindenburg has a history of finding corporate wrongdoing and placing bets against companies. Founded in 2017 by Nate Anderson, CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst), CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst), Hindenburg Research is a forensic financial research firm that analyzes equities, credit, and derivatives.
On its website, Hindenburg says it looks for "human-made disasters" such as accounting irregularities, mismanagement, and undisclosed transactions with related parties.
"While we use fundamental analysis to help us make investment decisions, we believe that the most impactful research results from uncovering hard-to-find information from unusual sources."
The company's name is based on the Hindenburg tragedy, in which a German passenger airship caught fire, killing 35 people. “We see the Hindenburg as the epitome of a totally preventable and totally human-made disaster. Nearly 100 people were loaded into a balloon filled with the most flammable element in the universe. This was despite dozens of previous hydrogen-based aircraft meeting similar fates. Nevertheless, the Hindenburg's operators forged ahead, adopting Wall Street's quoted dictum that "this time is different," the company says on its website.
Founder Nate Anderson
A June 2021 Financial Times article said that Nate Anderson lived in Jerusalem before returning to the United States, where he worked as a consultant at a financial software company called FactSet. Later, he joined a brokerage firm in Washington DC, and New York. Before launching the research firm, Andersen had also worked with Harry Markopolos, who had singled out Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme.
Companies targeted by Hindenburg
Companies that have been the subject of Hindenburg's reports include Nikola, Clover Health, Kandi, Lordstown Motors, Tecnoglass, SC Worx, HF Foods, Riot Blockchain, and others.
The report titled 'Nikola: How to turn an ocean of lies into a partnership with America's largest auto OEM' was published in September 2020 and exposed a 'wide variety of alleged lies and deceptions by Nikola in the years leading up to his proposed partnership with General Motors.
Hindenburg has flagged possible wrongdoing in at least 16 companies since 2017, according to their website.
Last year, it went short and then long on Twitter Inc.
In May, Hindenburg said It was short because they believed Elon Musk's $44 billion offer to take the company private could lower its price if the world's richest person stepped down.
In June 2020, Hindenburg wrote that Genius Brands, then trading at around $6.86 a share, would "soon become a $1.50 share due to extreme retail euphoria and pending dilution." At the end of July of the same year, the shares fell to $1.50.
In July, Anderson revealed a "significant long position," betting against Musk. The Twitter deal closed in October at the original price.
Is there any connection between the CIA and Hindenburg's report on Adani?
No, there is no direct connection between Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Hindenburg research, but on social media, some people speculate that the CIA is using Hindenberg to execute bigger operations in India.
Organizations like Hindenburg are proxies of the CIA with a sole agenda to create fissures within the global entities which aren't American...
Manu Bahal
What CIA exactly do?
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is the principal intelligence agency of the United States federal government. Its employees generally operate in US embassies around the world. It is the only US intelligence agency that enjoys independence, as it is only accountable to the Director of National Intelligence. Due to the power enjoyed by the agency, it has come to be considered a State within a State.
In 1947, President Harry Truman signs the National Security Act, which created the CIA. Despite the agency having a history of involvement in espionage failures and scandals, the government still relies heavily on it to provide intelligence and national security.
The CIA carries out three main activities and for which it has traditionally distinguished itself. These are: collect information on foreign governments, corporations, and individuals; analyze that information together with the other data collected by its sister agencies; and provide an assessment on intelligence for national security so that the United States can correctly focus its policies.
ALSO READ
- What Hindenburg research report say about Adani?
- Who is Nathan Anderson, person behind Adani’s Hindenburg report?
- Hindenburg Effect: Adani slips to 7th position in the world’s richest list
- Know all about Shah Dhandharia & Co, CA firm which audits Adani group
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