Lord Jo Johnson, younger brother of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has bowed out of a high-profile role with a global investment bank that allegedly had links to the Adani empire. Johnson joined Elara Capital, a self-styled “leading investment bank” for Indian companies looking to raise money overseas, in June last year, reported UK's Financial Times on Thursday.
The firm was one of the 10 bookrunners for the Rs 20,000-crore share sale that Adani Group's flagship firm Adani Enterprises withdrew on Wednesday, a week after US short seller Hindenburg Research accused the ports-to-power conglomerate of stock price manipulation and accounting fraud. Adani Group has denied the short-seller's accusations, saying the allegation of stock manipulation had "no basis" and stemmed from an ignorance of Indian law. It said it has always made the necessary regulatory disclosures.Hindenburg alleged in its 106-page scathing report that Mauritius-based funds run by the London firm were part of a scheme to manipulate the stock price of Adani Group’s listed companies. Hindenburg's report also alleged an improper use of offshore tax havens by the Adani Group. It also raised concerns about high debt and the valuations of seven listed Adani companies.
Member of Parliament between 2010-2019, Jo Johnson served as a senior Government Minister under three successive Prime Ministers, including as Head of the No10 Downing Street Policy Unit and Minister of State in the Cabinet Office; Minister of State for Transport; Minister for London; and Minister of State, attending Cabinet, for Universities, Science, Research & Innovation. Jo Johnson began his career as an investment banker with Deutsche Bank and later spent 13 years at the Financial Times, including as Head of Lex and Associate Editor. His foreign postings included over three years as the FT's South Asia Bureau Chief based in New Delhi and four years as the FT's Paris Correspondent.His resignation, which was dated February 1, was disclosed in a filing at Companies House on Thursday.