After the new report by Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) on Adani Group revealed millions of dollars were invested in some publicly traded stocks of Adani Group via ‘opaque’ funds based in Mauritius, the conglomerate dismissed the allegations, calling it “recycled allegations”. “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,” Adani Group said in a statement.
The conglomerate added that this move was anticipated, as was reported by the media last week, further stating that the Mauritius funds investigated by reporters had already been named in the Hindenburg report earlier and the “allegations are not only baseless and unsubstantiated but are rehashed from Hindenburg’s allegations”.
“These claims are based on closed cases from a decade ago when the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) probed allegations of over invoicing, transfer of funds abroad, related party transactions and investments through FPIs,” it said.
Per the report by OCCRP, the two investors identified as Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli and Chang Chung-Ling, have longtime business ties to the family and have also served as directors and shareholders in Adani Group companies and companies associated with one of the family’s senior members, Vinod Adani.
The statement from Adani Group further stated that an independent adjudicating authority and an appellate tribunal had both confirmed that there was no over-valuation and that the transactions were in accordance with applicable law. “The matter attained finality in March 2023 when the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India ruled in our favour. Clearly, since there was no over-valuation, there is no relevance or foundation for these allegations on transfer of funds,” it said.
These FPIs are already part of the investigation by the SEBI. The Supreme Court too had convened an expert committee to look into the allegations but found no evidence of “breach of the Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) requirements or manipulation of stock prices”.
“It is unfortunate that these publications, which sent us queries, chose not to carry our response in full. These attempts are aimed at, inter alia, generating profits by driving down our stock prices and these short sellers are under investigation by various authorities. As the Hon’ble Supreme Court and SEBI are overseeing these matters, it is vital to respect the ongoing regulatory process,” Adani Group said.
The conglomerate went on to call the timing of the reports as suspicious, mischievous and malicious.