The Congress party held its ground on April 23, demanding the establishment of a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to investigate alleged rule violations by the Adani Group. The party’s general secretary for communication, Jairam Ramesh, asserted that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had discovered that certain offshore funds invested in the Adani Group had violated disclosure rules and breached investment limits.
Ramesh released a statement accusing India’s stock market regulator of finally identifying key players in the “Adani MegaScam” after years of hesitation and timidity. He countered claims by Modani and the media close to the ruling party that Adani received a “clean chit,” citing a Reuters report indicating that SEBI had identified “a dozen offshore funds invested in Adani Group companies” violating disclosure rules and investment limits.
Ramesh contends that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal and electoral ties with Adani cannot obscure the alleged illegality of his close associate. He implicates Adani associates Nasser Ali Shahban Ahli and Chang Chung-Ling in the alleged violations. Ramesh cites previous reports that SEBI investigated Ahli’s British Virgin Island-based shell company, Gulf Asia Trade & Investment, for violating share ownership rules and “potentially acting in concert with the Adani Group to manipulate share values and to carry out money laundering and round tripping through offshore tax havens.”
Ramesh also draws attention to the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) revealing that Chang and Ahli utilized benami funds to acquire large stakes in the Adani Group between 2013 and 2018. He alleges that benami funds amounting to ₹20,000 crore flowed into Adani Group companies through these transactions.
The Congress leader demands the immediate publication of SEBI’s long-awaited report on the alleged violations. He asserts that the latest revelations are part of a series of violations by the Adani Group, including miraculous coal price inflation in transit from Indonesia to India, misuse of agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, CBI, and Income Tax to facilitate asset acquisitions, and leveraging diplomatic channels to secure contracts in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and elsewhere.
Ramesh insists that only a JPC can conduct a comprehensive investigation into the “Adani MegaScam,” which he anticipates will occur in June 2024 upon the INDIA coalition’s assumption of office.
