Â鶹ӰÊÓ

Skip to main content

Report says close associates of India's Adani Group secretly purchased large numbers of shares

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani attends the "Invest Karnataka 2016 - Global Investors Meet" in Bangalore, India, Feb. 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade, File) Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani attends the "Invest Karnataka 2016 - Global Investors Meet" in Bangalore, India, Feb. 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade, File)
Share
NEW DELHI -

Two people closely linked to India's Adani Group, one of the country's largest conglomerates, secretly purchased millions of dollars of stocks in the group's companies, possibly violating Indian law, according to a report Thursday by a network of investigative journalists.

Market rules require that at least 25% of a company's shares be available for public purchase. The report by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project said the two men used "opaque investment funds based in the island nation of Mauritius" to obscure their involvement in controlling up to nearly 14% of the public shares.

The findings by the non-profit project were reported by The Guardian and The Financial Times. The project said they were based on files from multiple tax havens, bank records and internal Adani Group emails.

It identified the two investors as Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli and Chang Chung-Ling, and said they have longtime business ties to the Adani family and have served as directors and shareholders in the group's companies.

The two investors traded large amounts of shares in four Adani companies between 2013 and 2018, the report said.

The Adani Group rejected the report, saying all of its publicly listed entities were in compliance with the law.

Stocks in all 10 of the Adani Group's listed companies fell by up to 4% in trading Thursday afternoon.

The AP has not independently verified the allegations.

The report said that through the Mauritius funds, the two men bought and sold Adani stock and "made considerable profits in the process."

"The question of whether this arrangement is a violation of the law rests on whether Ahli and Chang should be considered to be acting on behalf of Adani promoters," it said. "If so, their stake in the Adani Group would mean that insiders altogether owned more than 75% allowed by law."

In January, the U.S.-based short-selling Hindenburg Research firm accused the Adani Group and its head, Gautam Adani, of "brazen stock manipulation" and "accounting fraud."

Following those accusations, which the Adani Group denied, Gautam Adani's net worth, which once made him Asia's richest man, shrank by over $30 billion, according to Bloomberg's Billionaire Index. At an estimated net worth of $64 billion today, Adani now occupies the 20th spot on the list.

Adani, 61, is perceived as having close ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His critics say much of his success stems from his proximity to the government and to Modi, who at times has campaigned using an Adani jet. The tycoon has denied receiving preferential treatment from the government.

His companies, including infrastructure, coal, renewable energy and media, lost tens of billions in market value as investors dumped Adani stocks after the Hindenburg claims.

In March, India's top court directed the country's market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, to investigate whether there had been a violation of rules or manipulation of stock prices by the Adani Group.

The board told the Supreme Court last week that its investigation was nearly complete and included an examination of offshore deals, without outlining its findings, local media reported.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Montérégie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

Stay Connected