'Concerted bid by George Soros-funded interests': Adani Group rejects OCCRP report

Reacting sharply to the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project report that alleged the ports-to-energy conglomerate of using "opaque" Mauritius funds in its publicly traded stocks, the Adani Group said the fresh allegations are yet another concerted bid by George Soros-funded interests supported by a section of the foreign media to revive the meritless Hindenburg report and malign the reputation of the Group. It said the the timing of these news reports is suspicious, mischievous and malicious.

The group said 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.

"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. In fact, this was anticipated, as was reported by the media last week," the Adani Group said in a fresh statement issued on Thursday. 

Earlier in the day, the OCCRP report said that millions were invested in some publicly traded stocks of Adani Group via "opaque" Mauritius funds that "obscured" involvement of alleged business partners of the Adani family.

It further said that during its probe it found at least two cases where the investors bought and sold Adani stock through such offshore structures. The report comes at least eight months after US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the ports-to-energy conglomerate of improper business dealings, including the use of offshore entities in tax havens.

Watch: Adani Enterprises, Adani Green, Adani Total Gas, other group shares fall after OCCRP report alleges family-controlled entities bought own shares; Hindenburg 2.0 for Adani Group? Check details

The conglomerate further said that the 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.

"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. 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," the Adani Group said in its latest statement.

It further added: "Notably, these FPIs are already part of the investigation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India. As per the Expert Committee appointed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, there is no evidence of any 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." 

OCCRP shared the results of its investigation with two foreign publications - The Guardian and Financial Times - which have also carried news reports based on files from multiple tax havens, bank records, and internal Adani Group emails.

The OCCRP report named two individual investors - Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli and Chang Chung-Ling - who made the alleged investments. OCCRP described both as "longtime business partners" of the Adani family. 

The media organization said there was no evidence Chang and Ahli's money for their investments came from the Adani family, but said its reporting and documents - including an agreement, corporate records and an email - showed there "is evidence" that their trading in Adani stock "was coordinated with the family". 

"The question of whether this arrangement is a violation of the law rests on whether Ahli and Chang 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," OCCRP said. 

OCCRP said their stake in Adani holdings would exceed the 75 per cent limit allowed for insider ownership. 

According to its description on its website, OCCRP is a global network of investigative journalists that “exposes crime and corruption so the public can hold power to account”. The body is being funded among others by Soros’ Open Society Foundation (OSF) and Rockefeller Brothers Fund. 

Soros previously had defended the Hindenburg report and accused how PM Narendra Modi and business tycoon Gautam Adani are close allies. 

He had said: “Adani Enterprises tried to raise funds in the stock market but failed… Modi will have to answer on Adani in Parliament. This will significantly weaken Modi’s stranglehold on India’s federal government. I expect a democratic revival in India… I could be foolish, but I think democracy will flourish again.”

Since the market opening, Adani Group shares fell up to 3 per cent with Adani Power, Adani Energy Solutions and Adani Green values dropping.  Adani Ports fell 1.7 per cent, while the flagship company Adani Enterprises fell over 2 per cent.

Also read: More allegations against Adani Group: Report says Adani family's partners used 'opaque' funds to invest in group stocks

Also read: AEL, Adani Power, Adani Green, Adani Total Gas shares: 10 Adani stocks fall after OCCRP report; group replies

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