Kotak Mahindra Group said Hindenburg was never a client of the two entities associated with Kotak group’s K- India Opportunities Fund (KIOF) and Kotak Mahindra International Limited (KMIL). The fund was not aware that Hindenburg was a partner of any of its investors, it added.
“KMIL and KIOF unequivocally state that Hindenburg has never been a client of the firm nor has it ever been an investor in the Fund. The Fund was never aware that Hindenburg was a partner of any of its investors,” a spokesperson for Kotak Mahindra International Limited said.
K-India Opportunities Fund Ltd (KIOF) is a Sebi-registered foreign portfolio investor and is regulated by the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius, it clarified, adding, “The Fund was established in 2013 to enable foreign clients to invest in India. The Fund follows due KYC procedures, while onboarding clients and all its investments are made in accordance with all applicable laws. We have cooperated with regulators in relation to our operations and continue to do so.”
This comes after Hindenburg said that Kotak Mahindra Bank and brokerage firms founded by Uday Kotak created and oversaw the offshore fund structure used by the investor partner of US-based Hindenburg to short Adani stocks.
“While SEBI seemingly tied itself in knots to claim jurisdiction over us, its notice conspicuously failed to name the party that has an actual tie to India: Kotak Bank, one of India’s largest banks and brokerage firms founded by Uday Kotak, which created and oversaw the offshore fund structure used by our investor partner to bet against Adani. Instead, it simply named the K-India Opportunities fund and masked the ‘Kotak’ name with the acronym ‘KMIL’,” Hindenburg said.
