Soon after the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) published its investigation into possible manipulation of Adani Group stocks, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) sought access to the documents in their possession. According to sources, OCCRP has refused, as it is their long-standing policy not to provide documents beyond what is published.
OCCRP redirected SEBI to advocate Prashant Bhushan who had tweeted a few of the relevant documents on September 1, 2023. OCCRP said that it seemed that the senior lawyer too was in possession of certain documents that it had sourced from others. Prashant Bhushan had also filed a case against Adani last month.
An investigative journalist who has worked with OCCRP and other international investigative consortiums told TNM that normally documents are not handed out as the intent of investigating agencies is suspect and the documents can be used to trace the source. The journalist also said that many times such documents were used for follow-up stories and therefore not handed over.
The OCCRP had on August 30 published a report based on its investigation that showed that two men, Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli and Chang Chung-Ling, who have long-time close links to members of the Adani family, had invested large amounts in Adani group shares. At the peak of their investment, the two of them had shares worth $430 million. If they were acting on behalf of the promoter, that is the Adani family, then this would violate the law that permits promoters to own not more than 75% of the company shares.
In its email to OCCRP, SEBI requested documents mentioned in the report to help with their investigation into the Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) holdings in six listed Adani Group companies. SEBI said that it is carrying out the investigation to ascertain compliance with relevant SEBI circulars, and asked for the documents to be sent latest by September 13.
In March this year, the Supreme Court had asked SEBI to investigate the Adani Group and submit a report. This after US-based Hindenburg Research released a report accusing the Adani Group of manipulation of share prices and of fraudulent transactions.