Congress alleges Vinod Adani's 'central role' in Adani group's 'nefarious activities'

Ramesh said that in repeated public filings the Adani Group has described Vinod Adani as an intrinsic part of it

Congress on Sunday asked the Narendra Modi whether Gautam Adani's elder brother Vinod Adani is not worthy of an investigation by the SEBI or the Enforcement Directorate (ED) while alleging that he is at the centre of financial flows that leverage one group of Adani assets to send loans to another.

In the fourteenth edition of the party's 'Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun' series that poses three questions daily on Adani Group issue, Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh alleged that there are "obvious misrepresentations" being made by the Adani Group on Vinod Adani's central role in the "nefarious activities" of the conglomerate.

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Releasing the latest set of questions, Ramesh tweeted, "just because the PM is 'Mauni Baba' on this issue (like on Chinese incursions) it doesn't mean we stop asking questions of him. Here is HAHK (Hum Adanike Hain Kaun)-14."

Ramesh referred to Hindenburg Research's allegation that Vinod Adani "manages a vast labyrinth of offshore shell entities" that have "collectively moved billions of dollars into Indian Adani publicly listed and private entities, often without required disclosure of the related party nature of the deals" and said the Adani Group had claimed that Vinod Adani does not hold any managerial position in any of the listed companies or their subsidiaries and has no role in their day to day affairs.

He said, "an Australian investigation has shown that Vinod Adani's Pinnacle Trade and Investment, based in Singapore, controls a number of Adani Group assets in Australia. In 2020, Pinnacle entered into a $240 million loan agreement with Russia's now sanctioned VTB Bank, and then went on to lend $235 million to a related party, likely connected to the Adani Group according to Forbes magazine."

"Does this not clearly show that Vinod Adani is at the centre of financial flows that leverage one group of Adani assets to send loans to another, as alleged by Hindenburg. Is this not worthy of investigation by SEBI and the Enforcement Directorate?" he asked.

He also said that despite the Adani Group's claims of distancing itself from Vinod Adani, in repeated public filings the group has described Vinod Adani as an intrinsic part of the Adani Group.

"For instance, this memorandum filed with the Bombay Stock Exchange in 2020 for a Rs 400 crore debt private placement clearly states: 'Adani Group means S.B. Adani Family Trust, Adani Properties Private Limited, Adani Tradeline LLP, Gautam Adani, Rajesh Adani, Vinod S. Adani and all companies and entities controlled directly or indirectly by S.B. Adani Family Trust or Adani Properties Private Limited or Adani Tradeline LLP or Gautam Adani or Rajesh Adani or Vinod S. Adani, separately or collectively," Ramesh claimed.

"Why is your close friend lying so blatantly to investors and to the public? Are the various investigative agencies that you have freely deployed against political parties, media and non-subservient businesspersons ever going to be used to investigate your cronies even when they are caught red-handed?" Ramesh asked.

He also said on September 16 last year, the Adani Group announced that the Adani family, through Endeavour Trade and Investment Ltd, a special purpose vehicle, has successfully completed the acquisition of Ambuja Cements Ltd and ACC Ltd and the acquisition catapulted Adani to the rank of India's second-largest cement producer.

"The acquirer's SEBI filing stated in no uncertain terms that 'the ultimate beneficial ownership of the acquirer is held by Mr Vinod Shantilal Adani and Mrs Ranjanben Vinod Adani'. Is it not a laughable falsehood for the Adani Group to now distance itself from Vinod Adani?" Ramesh said.