“Kitne Ghazi Aaye, Kitne Ghazi Gaye,” Jugeshinder ( “Robbie”) Singh fired-off on X, the morning the U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research said it was folding its tent permanently. That was Robbie's quip on behalf of the Adani Group -- a victory lap. Roughly translated, the X post meant "Many conquerors came, many conquerors went." The post ricocheted across India’s business feeds. Robbie is the kind of corporate CFO who does not post spreadsheets-- he believes in posting scathing taunts each time billionaire Gautam Adani and his conglomerate is under attack from the left leaning cabal.
Singh has made a career out of closing funding gaps and a persona out of closing arguments. When a short seller’s broadside wiped tens of billions off Adani stocks in January 2023, he stepped in front of the camera with India’s tricolour over his shoulder and called the allegations “A malicious combination of selective misinformation”—then followed with a 400‑plus‑page rebuttal.
If Gautam Adani is the empire’s architect, Robbie Singh has become its chief construction foreman in a crisis. Within weeks of the Hindenburg shock, Adani secured a $1.87 billion vote of confidence from GQG Partners via block deals across four listed companies—an opening lifeline that steadied the slide. On the record, Singh called it a “landmark transaction”; behind the scenes, he led investor diplomacy: fixed‑income roadshows in Dubai, London and U.S. cities to rebuild trust.
That bridgehead investment didn’t end there. GQG later emerged as the biggest buyer in a $500 million Ambuja Cements stake sale, underscoring how the boutique manager’s money—and by extension, Adani’s outreach—kept showing up when it counted.
A CFO who fights in the numbers—and in the mentions
Singh isn’t the typical grey‑flannel CFO. His X feed blends capex guidance with sharp elbows.
Take March 16, 2023, amid the Hindenburg fallout: Moitra pounced on what she saw as Adani's flip-flop over Vinod Adani's role, tweeting, "Adani in Jan said—'Vinod Adani does not hold any managerial position... Today it says 'Vinod Adani is part of the ‘promoter group’...' " Robbie fired back instantly: "Sad. Uninformed & deliberate attempt to mislead by Hon MP of Indian parliament." He followed up with a thread clarifying the legal distinction between "promoter" and "management," turning her gotcha into a masterclass in corporate semantics.
Fast-forward to September 19, 2025, post-SEBI's clean chit to Adani on Hindenburg charges. Moitra couldn't resist the sarcasm: "Wow. @SEBI_India cleared @AdaniOnline of all charges? Really? Never expected it." Robbie, channeling festive frost, replied: "Wish you joyous and happy Puja festivities Hon MP." The sugar-coated shade—dropped during Durga Puja—went viral, a velvet-gloved smackdown that had business feeds buzzing and Moitra's allies fuming, all while Adani stocks surged on the regulator's vindication.
He’s also taken direct aim at critics by name. In one post he mocked a circle of detractors, explicitly referencing journalist Ravi Nair; in another, he sparred over currency takes and macro claims. This is corporate communications, Singh‑style—facts plus sarcasm, delivered from the CFO’s handle.
The bravado is paired with brass‑tacks finance. In June 2024, Singh told reporters Adani would nearly double capex to ₹1.3 trillion ($15.6 billion) in FY25, detailing renewable‑energy additions and swatting aside Paytm stake rumours in the same breath. He’s also publicly dismissed some SEBI notices as “trivial,” signaling a posture of don’t‑blink compliance.
The New Crossfire: LIC, Washington Post—and Singh’s Counter‑narrative
Last week, The Washington Post reported that Indian officials worked up a $3.9 billion plan via state‑owned insurer LIC to backstop Adani after U.S. bribery and fraud charges against the group’s chair constrained global funding. The story detonated into India’s culture war over “crony capitalism.”
What was Robbie's roast: "WAPO writing about finance is like @JeffBezos or I writing about how to have full head of hair. 100% moronic. As Wolfgang Pauli said 'It is not even wrong." The post racked up over 2,800 likes and 100,000 views in days, a masterclass in dismissing "crony capitalism" narratives as bald-faced folly
Later, LIC fired back, calling the report “false” and “far from the truth,” insisting its investment decisions are independent—another trench‑line in a fight Singh has been happy to wage online.
And about those U.S. cases: when American authorities unveiled charges in late 2024 tied to a solar‑power contract, Singh’s line was crisp—the allegations relate to one contract at Adani Green, roughly 10 percent of that business; the group will respond in the appropriate forum. He has rejected the broader narrative outright.
The Résumé Behind the Rhetoric
The theatre shouldn’t obscure the CV. Adani Enterprises appointed Singh CFO in 2019 after a career in infrastructure‑focused investment banking across Australia and beyond, with engineering and applied‑finance degrees to match. That global polish now buttresses his nationalist patina—the flag in the frame, the desi idioms in the captions.
He also leans into identity on X: “I have had full access to work in US/Aus/EU/CAN since 1996. Today, I am here, in India, once in millennium opportunity.” The subtext is clear—he’s chosen a side, and he’s going to defend it in public.
Why Singh Matters
In every corporate crisis there’s a translator who converts chaos into cashflows. During Adani’s darkest weeks, Singh became that translator—with a 413‑page rebuttal for the bond desks and a one‑liner for the timeline. He fronted investor roadshows, welcomed GQG as a strategic anchor, and kept setting out forward capex even as courtrooms and commentariat kept circling.
It’s a high‑wire act: a CFO who quotes Punjabi‑cinema bravado in the morning and negotiates billions by afternoon. But in a conglomerate built on audacious infrastructure bets, the numbers and the narrative are two sides of the same balance sheet—and Robbie Singh has decided to own both. |
