Adani Group rejects 'hidden foreign investors' allegations

The Adani Group rejected the allegations of hidden foreign investors levelled by OCCRP, funded by George Soros, and called them recycled allegations which are 'another concerted bid by Soros-funded interests supported by a section of the foreign media to revive the meritless Hindenburg report'. In a detailed media statement, in which the group categorically denied the allegations, it said that 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.

Here is the full statement issued by the Adani Group

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.

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.

Adani family's partners used 'opaque' funds to invest in its stocks

Notably, these FPIs are already part of the investigation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). 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.

We have complete faith in the due process of law and remain confident of the quality of our disclosures and corporate governance standards. In light of these facts, the timing of these news reports is suspicious, mischievous and malicious - and we reject these reports in their entirety.

Hindenburg 2.0: What are the latest allegations against Adani Group?

Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project published an article claiming that millions of dollars 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. In a statement to OCCRP, Adani Group said the Mauritius funds investigated by reporters had already been named in the Hindenburg report and the "allegations are not only baseless and unsubstantiated but are rehashed from Hindenburg's allegations."