Hindenburg 2.0: Adani family secretly invested in own shares, alleges OCCRP; company denies charge

Billionaire Gautam Adani's group was on Thursday hit by fresh allegations of associates of the promoter family using Mauritius-based 'opaque' investment funds to secretly invest hundreds of millions of dollars to fuel the spectacular rise in group stocks during 2013 to 2018, a charge the conglomerate denied vehemently.

The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) said documents obtained by it revealed details of a complex offshore operation in two Mauritius-based funds managed by the partners of the promoter family to support prices of shares of group companies from 2013 to 2018 - a period during which the ports-to-energy conglomerate saw meteoric rise to become India's largest and most powerful businesses.OCCRP said two close associates of Vinod Adani -- the elder brother of group founder, and chairman Gautam Adani -- are sole beneficiaries of Mauritius-based companies through which the money appeared to flow.

The group elaborated, "These claims are based on closed cases from a decade ago when the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) probed allegations of over-invoicing, transfer of funds abroad, related party transactions and investments through FPIs. An independent adjudicating authority and an appellate tribunal both confirmed that there was no over-valuation and that the transactions were in accordance with applicable law."Addressing the involvement of the alleged investors, the conglomerate pointed out that these Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) were already under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). It emphasised that the Supreme Court of India and SEBI were overseeing the matters, underscoring the importance of respecting the ongoing regulatory process.