Adani Nephew Linked to Insider Trading Case, Seeks to Resolve Allegations
New Delhi | May 2, 2025 — India’s Securities and Exchange Board (SEBI) has accused Pranav Adani, the nephew of billionaire Gautam Adani and a director in multiple Adani Group companies, of insider trading. SEBI claims that Pranav Adani shared price-sensitive information about the acquisition of SB Energy by Adani Green in 2021, which allowed his family members to profit from trading based on this non-public data.
According to sources familiar with the case, the regulator’s investigation revealed that Pranav Adani shared confidential details of the acquisition with his brother-in-law, Kunal Shah, before the deal was made public. This information was allegedly used by Kunal Shah and his brother, Nrupal Shah, who traded shares of Adani Green based on the unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI). The Shah brothers made a reported profit of 9 million rupees (approximately $108,000).
In a response to Reuters, Pranav Adani has expressed his desire to settle the charges, stating that he aims to bring the matter to a close “without admission or denial of the allegations.” He further asserted that he had not violated any securities laws. Settlement terms are still being discussed, as confirmed by sources who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the ongoing proceedings.
The insider trading allegations stem from the 2021 acquisition of SB Energy Holdings, a SoftBank-backed renewable energy firm. The acquisition, valued at $3.5 billion, remains one of the largest deals in India’s renewable energy sector. Pranav Adani is said to have learned of the deal two to three days prior to its official announcement on May 16, 2021.
The case adds to a string of controversies surrounding the Adani Group. Last year, U.S. authorities indicted Gautam Adani and two Adani Green executives for allegedly paying bribes to secure power supply contracts and for misleading U.S. investors. The Adani Group has vehemently denied the charges, calling them “baseless.”
While Pranav Adani has opted for a settlement, Kunal and Nrupal Shah have rejected the proposed terms, choosing to contest the allegations. Their legal representatives argue that the trades were executed without knowledge of any unpublished information, and that the details in question were already publicly available.
This insider trading case, which comes after a series of regulatory challenges for the Adani Group, has drawn significant attention in India’s corporate world. As the matter continues to unfold, Pranav Adani’s settlement request will be reviewed by SEBI following an ongoing review of its settlement process.