Adani Group-OCCRP issue: Congress demands JPC probe, criticises PM Modi

As New Delhi gears up for the 2023 G20 summit meeting, it is worth recalling PM Modi’s words at the November 2014 Brisbane G20 summit calling for global cooperation “to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders”, to “track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers”… pic.twitter.com/xzEpFC76sq

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) August 31, 2023

He further said the actual ownership of two of the thirteen benami shell companies that SEBI has failed to identify, despite years of “investigation”, has been revealed. But questions remain about Sebi’s role.

He said the OCCPR report clearly shows that there is a link between Adani associates Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli and Chang Chung-Ling in a bid to bypass Indian securities laws relating to minimum public shareholding that were put in place to prevent share price manipulation. 

"Shell companies controlled by Ahli and Chang—that have been revealed to be fronts for Gautam Adani’s elder brother Vinod—accumulated substantial stakes in four Adani Group companies covertly and illegally. The stench of corruption around the network of Adani-linked shell companies located in opaque tax havens is only getting stronger with the money trail being established now," Ramesh posted.

He said: "The actual ownership of two of the thirteen benami shell companies that Sebi has failed to identify, despite years of “investigation”, has been revealed. But questions remain about Sebis role. Did the obvious conflict of interest revealed by the association of past Sebi Chairpersons with the Adani Group play a role in SEBI’s inability to properly investigate these shell companies? Why did Sebi fail to disclose to the Supreme Court that the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence(DRI) had carried out investigations against the Adani Group in 2014, that were then closed by the Modi government in 2017."

Earlier, Ramesh had said stock market regulator Sebi’s inability to reach a conclusive finding on the allegations of round-tripping and money laundering by the Adani Group was “deeply worrying”.

Last week, Ramesh said Sebi has admitted this in its status report to the Supreme Court and added only a JP) can examine how the government flouted norms and procedures to help Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “favourite business group”. “The inability of the Sebi to reach a conclusive finding on allegations of round-tripping and money laundering by the Adani Group, as it has admitted in its 25th August 2023 status report to the Supreme Court, is deeply troubling,” Ramesh said in a statement.

The country, Ramesh said, is clearly paying a heavy price for the SEBI’s decision in 2018 to dilute and in 2019 to delete the reporting requirements relating to the ultimate beneficial ownership of foreign funds. The Congress leader noted no less than the Supreme Court’s Expert Committee pointed out that the reason the SEBI has failed to identify beneficial ownership of overseas investors in Adani companies was that “the securities market regulator suspects wrongdoing” but is “drawing a blank worldwide” due to its “piquant” decision to remove these stipulations.