‘Why is the PM quiet?’: Rahul Gandhi demands investigation into report on Adani

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday, August 31, demanded a probe into the alleged financial irregularities of the Adani Group after an investigative report showed how hundreds of millions of dollars were invested in publicly traded Adani stock through opaque investment funds based in the island nation of Mauritius. "Why is this one gentleman close to PM Modi allowed to move a billion dollars to pump up his share price and use that money to capture Indian assets, airports and ports?," Rahul Gandhi asked.

Speaking at a press conference in Mumbai, Rahul Gandhi raised copies of newspaper reports in the Financial Times and Guardian which published the findings of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) that made fresh allegations of stock manipulation against the Adani Group.

"The first question arises - whose money is this? Is it Adani's or someone else's? The mastermind behind this is a gentleman called Vinod Adani who is the brother of Gautam Adani. There are two other people who are involved in this round-tripping of money. One is a gentleman called Nasir Ali Shaban Ahli and another is a Chinese gentleman called Chang Chung Ling," Rahul Gandhi said. 

"The second question arises - why are these two foreign nationals being allowed to play with the valuation of one of the companies that controls almost all of Indian infrastructure...," Rahul Gandhi asked.

OCCRP found that in at least two cases — representing Adani stock holdings that at one point reached $430 million — the mysterious investors turn out to have widely reported ties to the group’s majority shareholders, the Adani family. The investigation also uncovered a letter written to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in 2014 with evidence of alleged suspicious stock activity by the Adani Group. After 2014, this allegation, however was not probed by the market regulator properly. 

"One of the people who gave a clean chit to Adani at SEBI is one of the directors of NDTV. It is clear something is very wrong," Rahul Gandhi said. Adani Group is a majority shareholder in NDTV.

The Congress MP demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the allegations against Adani Group, Chang Chung Ling and Nasir Ali Shaban Ahli. “A JPC should be called and this should be investigated. This is a matter of India's global reputation and it should be investigated,” said Rahul Gandhi. 

He also hit out at the Prime Minister for keeping quiet on the allegations and questioned why he had not ordered a probe as yet. “Why is this one gentleman who is close to the PM of India allowed to move a billion dollars to pump up his share price to use that money to capture Indian assets- airports, ports. Why is there no investigation taking place? It is very important that the Prime Minister clears his name and categorically announces what is going on. Why is the PM quiet and why is not saying that this issue is investigated and people who are responsible are put behind bars,” he said.