Business
India’s Adani Group Stung By Fresh Controversy
Adani Group of India is embroiled in a new issue after a new study claims it used “opaque” finances to circumvent share price manipulation rules.
According to the investigation, the group used offshore vehicles to invest millions of dollars in publicly traded equities of its own companies.
It mentions two individuals who allegedly purchased and sold equities on behalf of the group.
The Adani Group called the claims “meritless” and dismissed them.
The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a global network of investigative journalists, released the study on Thursday. The Guardian and Financial Times both ran pieces based on the documents released.
The Adani Group works in various areas in India and other nations, including commodities trading, airports, utilities, ports, and renewable energy. Billionaire Gautam Adani leads it, now ranked 24th on Forbes’ list of real-time billionaires.
Mr. Adani is seen as close to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and he has long faced charges from opposition leaders that he has benefited from his political connections, which he rejects.
Adani Group of India is embroiled in a new issue after a new study claims it used “opaque” finances to circumvent share price manipulation rules.
Earlier this year, the businessman was embroiled in a massive scandal after Hindenburg Research, a US-based short seller, accused his group of “brazen” stock manipulation and accounting fraud. Hindenburg further claimed that the firm was employing offshore entities and shell corporations to invest money in its equities, causing share prices to rise.
The group refuted the charges, calling them “malicious,” but its shares lost billions of dollars in market value, forcing it to cancel a planned share sale. A panel constituted by India’s Supreme Court is currently overseeing a probe into the allegations by the country’s market regulator.
According to the OCCRP analysis, two investors “spent years trading hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Adani Group stock”. According to the report, the two men have “close ties to the Adani family” and have served as directors and shareholders in companies affiliated with the organization.
The BBC has not conducted an independent investigation into the allegations.
According to OCCRP, no evidence exists that the monies used for these investments came from the Adani family.
Adani Group of India is embroiled in a new issue after a new study claims it used “opaque” finances to circumvent share price manipulation rules.
However, it went on to say that the reporting and papers analyzed by their journalists revealed “evidence” that their trading in The group’s stock “was coordinated with the family.”
According to the OCCRP, whether this arrangement is legal depends on whether the two investors “should be considered to be acting on behalf of Adani ‘promoters,’ a term used in India to refer to the majority owners of a business.”
The two men did not respond publicly right once, but the Group questioned the timing of the news report, calling it “suspicious, mischievous, and malicious.”
“We have complete faith in the due process of law and remain confident in the quality of our disclosures and corporate governance standards,” the company stated.
On the benchmark BSE index, shares of Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship company, were down 2.82%.
SOURCE – (BBC)