New Delhi: The Adani Group invested in its own stocks through proxies for years via “opaque” Mauritius funds, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a global network of investigative journalists having presence in six continents, claimed Thursday.
Reacting to the OCCRP claims, Adani Group said there is nothing new and they are a repetition of what Hindenburg Research had alleged back in January this year.
Citing review of files from multiple tax havens and internal Adani Group emails, OCCRP said its investigation found at least two cases where the investors bought and sold Adani stock through such offshore structures.
The latest findings by OCCRP as regard to the alleged manipulation by the Indian conglomerate owned by Gautam Adani, who is considered to be a “close friend” of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have been shared with The Guardian and Financial Times.
The key findings of the investigative report is also available for public viewing on OCCRP website.
“Two men who secretly invested in the massive conglomerate turn out to have close ties to its majority owners, the Adani family, raising questions about violations of Indian law”, OCCRP said.
The two individual investors who made the investments it investigated for its article are Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli and Chang Chung-Ling, according to OCCRP.
The OCCRP described them as “long-time business partners” of the Adani family.
“Both have close ties to the Adani family, including appearing as directors and shareholders in affiliated companies”, OCCRP claimed. “Records show that the investment funds they used to trade in Adani Group stock received instructions from a company controlled by a senior member of the Adani family”, it alleged.
“Both have close ties to the Adani family, including appearing as directors and shareholders in affiliated companies”, OCCRP claimed.
“Records show that the investment funds they used to trade in Adani Group stock received instructions from a company controlled by a senior member of the Adani family”, it alleged.
Citing confidential documents available with it the OCCRP claimed that, through the Mauritius funds, they spent years buying and selling Adani stock through offshore structures that obscured their involvement — and made considerable profits in the process.
“The documents also show that the management company in charge of their investments paid a Vinod Adani company to advise them in their investments”, the OCCRP said.
Following the allegations against Adani Group by short seller Hindeburg Research in January 2023, the Supreme Court of appointed a panel to oversee a market regulator probe.
The panel in May said the regulator had so far “drawn a blank” in investigations into suspected violations in overseas investments in the Adani Group.
“Neither India’s stock market regulator nor a high-level expert committee has been able to prove what many suspect: that some foreign owners of publicly listed Adani Group stock are, in fact, fronts for its majority owners”, OCCRP said.
The Adani Group meanwhile rejected what it called "recycled allegations" of hidden foreign investors in a report by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project – OCCRP.
"We categorically reject these recycled allegations. These news reports appear to be yet another concerted bid by Soros-funded interests supported by a section of the foreign media to revive the meritless Hindenburg report”, said the ports-to-power conglomerate in a statement.
The Adani Group also cited the Supreme Court’s expert committee, which described a financial regulator’s efforts to get to the bottom of the matter as “not proved.”
“In light of these facts, these allegations are not only baseless and unsubstantiated but are rehashed from Hindenburg’s allegations,” the group said.
“Further, it is categorically stated that all the Adani Group’s publicly listed entities are in compliance with all applicable laws including the regulation relating to public share holdings”, it added.
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