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Why Nomura has been sued by this Adani-linked fund
20 Jan 2026

Nomura Holdings is facing a lawsuit in London, after an investment fund linked to Gautam Adani accused the firm of breaching a repayment plan and selling collateral, which allegedly resulted in significant financial losses.

The Elara Capital-owned fund, Oyster Bay Fund, borrowed from Nomura for stock bets on Adani Enterprises Ltd and Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd.

The lawsuit claims that these actions by Nomura have cost the fund tens of millions of dollars.

Allegations of stock manipulation and fund's involvement
Accusations

The lawsuit comes after a January 2023 report by Hindenburg Research accused Adani's empire of "brazen stock manipulation" and alleged that Elara was involved.

Following these allegations, shares of Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone plummeted.

The case is part of the fallout from Hindenburg's almost 100-page report on Adani, which at one point wiped out over $150 billion in value from his publicly-traded companies.

Nomura's senior bankers sought to reduce loan sizes
Loan concerns

In light of the Hindenburg report, some of Nomura's senior bankers in Asia were spooked and wanted to cut the size of the loans.

The Elara fund claims that Nomura demanded $205 million in cash to recover the debts but then breached a repayment plan by selling Adani shares pledged as collateral.

This action reportedly resulted in losses worth $43 million for the Elara fund.

However, the Tokyo-based lender has denied any wrongdoing.

Nomura's response to the lawsuit
Legal defense

Responding to the lawsuit, a spokesperson for Nomura said, "Nomura disagrees with Oyster Bay Fund's claim, and we will vigorously defend it."

The bank's defense filed on January 5 revealed that following Hindenburg's report, a group of top Asian officials at Nomura requested repayment from Elara.

They expressed discomfort with the leverage on the portfolio due to huge volatility in its stocks.

Nomura's role in Elara fund's exposure to Adani companies
Financial dealings

Nomura helped the Elara fund build a "significant exposure" to Adani companies through total return swaps, securities that let buyers bet on shares without owning them.

These transactions usually require collateral or margin that banks can seize and sell if the stocks lose value and their loans are threatened.

The case highlights how Nomura handled loans to its high-risk trading clients in 2023, two years after losing almost $3 billion on similar trades with Archegos Capital Management.

Elara's investment in Adani shares and SEBI's investigation
Regulatory scrutiny

Hindenburg's report claimed that two of Elara's other funds had invested almost exclusively in different Adani shares, raising allegations they were a front for Adani himself.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) asked the Elara funds for an explanation as part of a probe into potential violations of disclosure norms.

However, these funds had not responded to information requests.