Gautam Adani has hired a top US legal firm to defend him against accusations made in a report by Hindenburg, the American research company with a focus on activist short-selling.

“Adani hires US legal powerhouse Wachtell in short-seller battle,” is the headline on Friday in the Financial Times, which is following every twist and turn in the Adani affair which it feels has implications for the probity of corporate India and also for Narendra Modi because of the Prime Minister’s perceived closeness to the Indian tycoon.

“Gautam Adani has hired one of Wall Street’s fiercest activism defence law firms to fight back against claims made by short seller Hindenburg Research, as the Indian billionaire battles to reassure investors about the financial health of his business empire,” the paper reported on Friday.

“In recent days, the Adani Group has tapped senior lawyers at New York’s Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to advise it on how to stem the crisis facing the Indian conglomerate since Hindenburg accused it of accounting fraud and stock market manipulation in late January, four people with direct knowledge of the matter said,” the FT said.

It went on: “The Adani Group’s decision to hire Wachtell, known as one of the most expensive law firms in the US, shows the severe international pressure the group is facing since Hindenburg levelled its claims.

“For decades, Wachtell has been among the most sought-after advisers by besieged corporate boards at some of the largest US companies trying to fend off activist investors or hostile takeovers.”

The FT added: “The Adani Group, whose business interests range from airports to energy, has been facing difficulties since New York-based Hindenburg made its allegations. The Gujarat-based company has denied the claims in a 413-page rebuttal.

“This week the global index provider MSCI changed its weightings for several Adani Group stocks after reviewing how many shares were available on the stock market, and the Financial Times reported that Gautam Adani repaid a $1.1bn share-backed loan after facing a margin call of more than $500mn.

“Wachtell was approached by the Adani Group’s lawyers at the India-based Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas firm, which is leading the defence of the industrial giant, people with knowledge of the matter added.

“Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas is led by Cyril Shroff, whose daughter Paridhi is married to the oldest son of Gautam Adani and works at the law firm.

“Since accepting the role, Wachtell has been seeking to enlist further advisory support for the Adani Group, including from crisis communications firms, some of the people said.”

The paper said that the Adani Group, Wachtell and Shroff declined to comment.

It revealed: “Wachtell will predominantly focus on co-ordinating legal, regulatory and public relations for the group, whose market value has collapsed by more than $100bn since Hindenburg published its paper alleging fraud.

“Founded in 1965 by the partners who gave their names to the firm, Wachtell has built a reputation for taking on complex corporate governance cases. Its record of repelling unwanted attacks by corporate raiders since the 1980s has attracted clients in the crosshairs of investors and regulators.”

Adani won’t be pleased that he is receiving so much attention from the FT.