'India's reputation is at stake ahead of G20 Summit': Rahul Gandhi on Adani-OCCRP issue

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Thursday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over fresh allegations against Gautam Adani that his family allegedly invested billions in the group companies through dubious routes to pump up share prices. 

During a press conference, Gandhi flagged reports by UK-based Financial Times and The Guardian, that claimed that the Adani family secretly invested in their own shares. He said two prominent global financial newspapers have raised a very important question. "These are not random newspapers, they affect investment in India, they affect the perception of our country in the rest of the world." 

Also read: After Hindenburg, OCCRP says Adani family's partners used 'opaque' funds to invest in its stocks; top 12 points

Gandhi said India's reputation was at stake ahead of the G20 Summit. He said the G20 Summit is about India's position in the world. "What is important for India is that there is a level playing field and transparency in our economic environment and business that operate in our country."  

He further said the reports stated that over a billion dollars of money went from India, were circulated in different places, and then came back to India. "Whose money is this? Is it Adani's money or someone else's?" he asked, adding that the mastermind behind this was Vinod Adani besides two foreign nationals. "Why are these two foreign nationals being allowed to play with the valuations of one of the companies that controls almost all of India's infrastructure," Gandhi asked.

The Congress leader, who had also targted the government when Hindenburg Research made serious allegations earlier in January, said the probe was done but Sebi gave a clean chit to Adani. "And the gentleman who gave a clean chit to Adani is now a director at NDTV (a TV channel owned by Adani). There is something very wrong here," he said.

Gandhi said that the government is trying to show that India has a level playing field "but why a person is allowed to move billion dollars to pump up his share price to use that money to capture Indian assets - airports and ports". "Why is there no investigation taking place? JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) should be allowed, and thorough investigation should take place."  

Earlier today, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) came out with a report, alleging that hundreds of millions of dollars were invested in publicly traded group stocks through Mauritius-based 'opaque' investment funds managed by partners of promoter family.

The OCCRP said it reviewed files from multiple tax havens and internal Adani Group emails and found at least two cases where the "mysterious" investors bought and sold Adani stock through offshore structures. The organisation also claimed that two foreign nationals - Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli and Chang Chung-Ling - have longtime business ties to the Adani family and have also served as directors and shareholders in Group companies and firms associated with Gautam Adani's elder brother Vinod Adani.

These two men, according to the organisation, spent years buying and selling Adani stock through offshore structures that obscured their involvement - and made considerable profits in the process. The documents "show that the management company in charge of their investments paid a Vinod Adani company to advise them in their investment", it alleged.

The OCCRP is the second organisation after short seller Hindenburg to make such serious allegations against the Adani Group in seven months. The port-to-power conglomerate has, however, denied all charges saying this is a "concerted bid by Soros-funded interests supported by a section of the foreign media to revive the meritless Hindenburg report".