Cong urges SEBI, RBI to probe charges against Adani
January 27, 2023 12:40
The Congress on Friday demanded an investigation by the (SEBI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) into charges of alleged financial irregularities against the Adani Group, which has denied the charges.
Congress general secretary Communications Jairam Ramesh said the forensic analysis by the Hindenburg research into the Adani Group requires serious investigation by bodies like the SEBI and the RBI, as they are responsible for ensuring stability and security of the country's financial system.
"We fully understand the close relationship between the Adani Group and the current government. But it is incumbent on the Congress party as a responsible opposition party to urge SEBI and RBI to play their roles as stewards of the financial system and to investigate these allegations in the wider public interest," Ramesh said in a statement.
Hindenburg Research has alleged that Adani Group was "engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud", a charge the conglomerate described as malicious, unsubstantiated, one-sided, and having done with malafide intention to ruin its share-sale.
Hindenburg, a US-based investment research firm that specialises in activist short-selling, said its two-year investigation reveals that "the Rs 17.8 trillion (USD 218 billion) Indian conglomerate Adani Group has engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades."
Adani Group said it was shocked to see the report that came out without any attempt to contact it to get the factual matrix. "The report is a malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations that have been tested and rejected by India's highest courts," the ports-to-energy conglomerate said in a statement.
Ramesh said the Modi Government can try and impose censorship, "But in an era of globalisation of Indian businesses and financial markets can Hindenburg-type reports that focus on corporate 'misgovernance' be simply brushed aside and dismissed as being 'malicious'?"
He said the evolution and modernisation of India's financial markets since the 1991 reforms has aimed to improve transparency and to a level playing field for domestic and foreign investors.
It has specifically sought to increase the transparency of financial flows into the country to prevent round-tripping and money-laundering by actors that could include criminals, terrorists and hostile countries and to reduce dependence on offshore tax havens, the Congress leader said.
"For all its posturing about black money, has the Modi government chosen to turn a blind eye towards illicit activities by its favourite business group? Is there a quid pro quo? Will SEBI investigate these allegations to the fullest and not just in name?" he asked.
The allegations of financial malfeasance would be bad enough, but what is worse is that the Modi government may have exposed India's financial system to systemic risks through the liberal investments in the Adani Group made by strategic state entities like LIC, SBI and other public sector banks, he alleged in the statement. -- PTI
TOP STORIES
© 2024 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances