'Something is truly rotten': Congress' Jairam Ramesh on auditor issue facing Adani Group

Congress MP and General Secretary in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, has said that “something is truly rotten” in the Adani Group after reports of its auditor EY member firm SR Batliboi came under the lens of the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA). Ramesh’s fresh salvo at Adani, which he called “Modi favoured conglomerate”, comes even as the group said that it rejects “any suggestion that Adani Group and its businesses have not acted as per the regulations”.

Jairam Ramesh in a post on X, formerly Twitter, said: “1. In May 2023, a little-known statutory auditor of Adani Total Gas Ltd resigns. 2. In August 2023, another statutory auditor – this time an internationally known firm – resigns after flagging concerns on financial transactions of Adani Ports. 3. In October 2023, comes news of a third statutory auditor – also a big name in the profession – of five listed Adani Group companies being itself investigated by the National Financial Reporting Authority. Something is truly rotten in this most Modi favoured conglomerate.”

The Congress MP’s post came after NFRA started an inquiry into SR Batliboi, an EY member firm in India, a few weeks ago, Bloomberg reported. SR Batliboi audits five listed Adani group firms – Adani Power, Adani Green Energy, Adani Wilmar,  and the recently acquired ACC and Ambuja Cements.

According to a Reuters source, the inquiry is a part of the investigation going on regarding Adani companies and all auditors who have audited Adani companies will go through the same process.

An Adani Group spokesperson, stating that the group is conducting its business in compliance to rules said, “We strongly reject any suggestion that Adani Group and its businesses have not acted as per the regulations and accounting standards of the jurisdictions in which we operate. The Adani Group has always conducted its business in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and is confident about its practices, governance and disclosures.”

Months after Hindenburg Research published their damning report on Gautam Adani and the Adani Group, Deloitte resigned as its auditor. It cited concerns over insufficient disclosures. Before that, a small Ahmedabad-based chartered accountancy firm, Shah Dhandharia, whose appointment was questioned by Hindenburg, had resigned in May due to “pre-occupation”, as per a filing by Adani Total Gas. Hindenburg had raised the issue of the size and capability of the firms auditing the conglomerate in its report.

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