'India’s institutions are failing its people’: Congress slams SEBI's Adani probe

The Congress on Friday criticised the Securities of Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its ongoing investigation into the alleged questionable dealings of Gautam Adani-led Adani Group. The party claimed that governmental institutions are repeatedly failing to serve the citizens under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Congress contended that the current review process lacks transparency and fairness, thereby undermining the faith of the masses. As a corrective measure, it has called for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) review of the investigation, stating that only a comprehensive and impartial overview by a JPC can unmask the truth.

The opposition party has been probing billionaire Gautam Adani's Group's financial practices after US research company Hindenburg identified "irregularities" and slammed it with stock price manipulation. The Adani Group has disputed all of the claims stated in the Hindenburg report, claiming that it has committed no crime.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh has lashed out at the market regulator over an alleged delay in its inquiry against the Adani Group. His comments come following a media report suggesting that SEBI is likely to inform the Supreme Court that the investigation initially started in 2014 but came to a halt in 2017.

According to Ramesh, SEBI attempted to conceal the commencement of the inquiry in 2014 and will only now inform the apex court about the reasons behind its suspension in 2017. SEBI, as per the information available, was compelled to restart the investigation against the Adani Group in 2020.

“Reportedly, SEBI will tell the Supreme Court that ‘the initial investigation did not yield anything’,” PTI quoted him as saying.

“Let us recall the sequence of events that SEBI singularly failed to unravel: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in 2014 had investigated the over-invoicing of power-generation equipment by the Adani Group that siphoned off an alleged USD 1 billion in funds. The proceeds of this scam were handled by two Vinod Adani associates, Chang Chung-Ling and Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli, via companies based in Mauritius and the UAE.

“It subsequently emerged that the same duo had set up two investment funds in Mauritius — Emerging India Focus Fund (EIFF) and EM Resurgent Fund (EMRF) — that funnelled major investments into Adani Group shares,” he added.

Ramesh further alleged that by June 2016, the funds held 8-14 per cent of ‘benami’ holdings in Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Adani Power and Adani Transmission through shell companies in Mauritius, UAE and British Virgin Islands.

“How was such a clear-cut and brazen violation of laws relating to round tripping and minimum public shareholding allowed to escape scrutiny? Why was a comprehensive DRI investigation that had already laid out the key facts ignored? What were the pressures put on SEBI to give Adani a clean chit?” he said.

Is it a coincidence that all this occurred during the SEBI chairmanship of UK Sinha who later became a director in an Adani-owned channel, Ramesh asked.

“India’s institutions are failing its people under the Modi government. The truth of the Modani scam will only be revealed by a Joint Parliamentary Committee,” he asserted.

With inputs from PTI

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