Is Gautam Adani's salary less than his nephew Pranav Adani? Report claims...

India’s market regulator SEBI has accused Pranav Adani, a key director in the Adani Group and nephew of Gautam Adani, of breaking insider trading rules. According to a Reuters report, SEBI sent a notice to Pranav Adani last year, stating that he leaked confidential information before a major business deal.

The case is linked to the 2021 acquisition of SB Energy Holdings by Adani Green Energy. SEBI alleges that Pranav Adani shared secret details about the deal with Kunal Shah, before it was made public. Based on this leaked information, Kunal Shah and his brother Nrupal Shah bought shares of Adani Green and made an illegal profit of around Rs 90 lakh (about $108,000).

SEBI claims this is a clear case of insider trading, as the information was private and market-sensitive. Pranav Adani has denied the charges but has said he is ready to cooperate and resolve the matter.

The SB Energy deal was announced in October 2021. Adani Green bought the company for $3.5 billion. SB Energy India was a joint venture between Japan’s SoftBank Group and India’s Bharti Enterprises. The acquisition included 5 GW of renewable energy assets across four Indian states. Out of this, 1,700 MW were already operational, 2,554 MW were under construction, and 700 MW were nearing construction.

The Adani Group is one of India’s largest business houses, led by Gautam Adani. Interestingly, despite leading the group, Gautam Adani does not earn the highest salary. According to Navbharat Times, in 2024, he earned Rs 9.26 crore, while his brother Rajesh Adani earned Rs 8.37 crore. Pranav Adani made Rs 6.46 crore, including a Rs 4.5 crore commission. Vinay Prakash, a director at Adani Enterprises, earned the most in the group at Rs 89.37 crore. The group’s CFO, Jugeshinder Singh, earned Rs 9.45 crore.