Is Hindenburg Research under criminal investigation in US?
Several BJP members and the right-wing ecosystem claim Hindenburg Research is banned in the US.
Claim
Hindenburg: three obscure facts
There are three criminal inquiries into it in the US.
Due to their fraud methods, their bank accounts were frozen for an extended period of time. Any reports regarding firms listed on the New York Stock Exchange are illegal to be published.
Rating
Explanation
Hindenburg Research is a short seller based in New York. It recently published a report on the Adani Group alleging several acts of fraud, stock manipulation, artificially inflating stock prices, money laundering through shell companies etc. The report led to a sharp fall in the share prices of various companies of the Adani Group and it also led to political turmoil. The opposition parties are demanding a probe to be conducted by the Joint Parliamentary Committee.
Now, many BJP members and its supporters such as Ashutosh J. Dubey, Pradeep Bhandari, Ratan Sharda are claiming that the Hindenburg Research is under 3 different criminal investigations. They have also claimed that the Hindenburg is banned from reporting on companies that are listed in the New York Stock Exchange. Pradeep Bhandari, a Editor-in-chief of Jan Ki Baat; Mukesh Kumar of Sudarshan News have also made the similar accusations. BJP’s spokesperson Sanju Verma had tweeted to Hindenburg asking the same questions.
Did #FINRA ban you?
Is it true your banks accounts were sealed/frozen for price rigging& manipulation?
Is it true you are banned from researching on listed Cos on NYSE?
Is it true you shorted #Adani stocks&then published your trashy report?#HindenburgFraud #HindenburgExposed https://t.co/LakI55FCiO
— Sanju Verma (@Sanju_Verma_) February 4, 2023
Where’s the truth?
Nathan (Nate) Anderson, the founder of the Hindenburg research responded in twitter that his company is not banned by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA); its bank accounts are not seized. He also added that there is no such thing as being banned from publishing a report on a company listed in New York Stock Exchange and also denied that his company is under any current investigation.
The Wire out with an article debunking lies about @HindenburgRes by senior BJP officials, including:
– We are banned by FINRA (never)
– Had bank accounts seized (no)
– Can't publish on NYSE-listed co's (this isn't a thing)
– Are under investigation (no)https://t.co/TXtC3qZbXL— Nate Anderson (@ClarityToast) February 9, 2023
The Mint article from 9th February 2023 has reported that the firm has not been accused or charged with any wrongdoing at present.
Moreover, the Hindenurg Research published a report on Welltower Inc, a company listed in the New York Stock Exchange, on December 2022, just a month before the report on Adani Group.
Many news outlets have reported on the rebuttal by Nathan Anderson regarding the allegations made against his company. See here, here and here.
#NathanAnderson, the founder of #HindenburgResearch, in a tweet, attached a news report “debunking” such “lies” and said Hindenburg was neither banned nor is under any investigation https://t.co/sbcr1W5SfH
— Financial Express (@FinancialXpress) February 10, 2023
Conclusion
The claims that the firm ‘Hindenburg Research’ is under criminal investigation, its bank accounts are seized, it is banned from publishing a report on companies listed in NYSE are false.