TMC MP Mahua Moitra on Tuesday slammed the government and regulators for not probing the allegations against the Adani Group by the US-based short seller Hindenburg Research. She alleged that Gautam Adani, the chairman of Adani Group, had misused the system to acquire many businesses. The government, Moitra said, should launch a thorough probe as the country's reputation and financial stability were at risk.
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Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Motira said an investigation by the market regulator Sebi was ongoing but Adani Group put out a statement saying it had been exonerated by the highest court of the land. "Which court? Which nation?" she asked. The parliamentarian further said that Gautam Adani, in his response to charges by Hindenburg, said his brother had no formal designation in the group so any transactions with his brother and entities controlled by him not be disclosed as related transactions.
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"Why has Sebi been the silent operator? Why would they permit a Rs 20,000 crore FPO without (submitting) an investigation report? Why didn't Sebi ask whether bankers had signed off on the valuation? How's Mr A's son's father-in-law allowed to be on the Sebi committee on insider trading and corporate governance? How?" Moitra asked while firing a barrage of questions at the government.
"What about the DRI, what about customs? What about GST? What are they doing? This is the deception of the highest order," the TMC MP asked. Adani, she alleged, has been permitted to use LIC, SBI, and the PSU banks to get money as and when he liked. She said LIC already had Rs 36,000 crore exposure to the group and the SBI had an outstanding loan of Rs 27,000 crore. "Why were they again anchor investors in FPO?" she asked.
Last month, Adani Group launched Rs 20,000 crore FPO (Follow-on Public Offer). For the first few days, the response was tepid due to the adverse report by Hindenburg and the subsequent stock plunge. However, the issue was subscribed fully by the closing day. The next day, markets crashed further, wiping off significant money of new investors in just a day. Rocked by the market volatility, the conglomerate called off the FPO saying it would not be morally correct to go ahead with it.
Today, Moitra alleged that the government tweaked rules to favour Adani. "Odisha's Dhamra LNG Terminal was not awarded by tender. And even if it is awarded by tender, rules are tweaked to favor him (Gautam Adani). For example, when he won six airport tenders, the Airport Authority of India delayed the handover for three airports. He invoked force majeure (unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract), and they accepted it."
The TMP MP further alleged that the GVK was forced to sell its stake to the Adani Group. She said GVK built the Mumbai airport, and they did a fantastic job. "On July 2, 2021, the CBI filed a case against the GVK group. On July 18, the ED raided GVK in Mumbai and Hyderabad. Then they sold 50.05 per cent to A's company," she said.
Moitra said Adani managed to use his proximity in the shipping ministry to prevent dredging in Mumbai ports for years. "So the traffic in JNPT (Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust) can't grow." She also alleged that GAIL and IOC were manipulated into signing a Rs 46,500 crore 20-year pay or use contract for him in Dhamra that he got without tender.
Concluding her discussion, the parliamentarian said that India was on its way to becoming the third-largest economy in the world. The government, she said, should immediately order a thorough probe into all matters as the country's reputation, system, and stability of the markets were at risk. "Don't worry about infrastructure assets. We have world-class infrastructure companies that can easily take over his businesses," she said.