Shillong, October 9: Adani Group has strongly reacted to what it calls a renewed effort by the ‘Financial Times’ and its associates to revive old and unsubstantiated claims aimed at tarnishing the reputation of the Adani Group.
As per IANS, the company asserts that this is part of a broader campaign to further vested interests under the guise of public interest.
The latest salvo in this ongoing campaign is led by Dan McCrum of the Financial Times (FT), who, in collaboration with the OCCRP, released a narrative against the Adani Group on August 31. The Adani Group points out that the OCCRP is funded by George Soros, who has openly expressed his antagonism towards the company.
In its latest attempt, FT is seeking to resurrect an old accusation of over-invoicing coal imports, which the Adani Group vehemently denies. FT’s story is supposedly based on a circular issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in 2016. However, the Adani Group points out that the DRI’s circular mentions around 40 importers, including the Adani Group companies, rendering it unjust to single out one entity.
The list of importers encompass not only significant private power generators like Reliance Infra, JSWSteels, and Essar but also state power generating companies and entities such as NTPC and MSTC, highlighting the broad scope of the issue.
The Adani Group highlights a specific case involving Knowledge Infrastructure, one of the 40 mentioned importers, where the DRI’s show-cause notice regarding over-valuation of coal imports was quashed by the appellate tribunal. Furthermore, the DRI’s appeal was withdrawn in the Supreme Court, underscoring that the matter was conclusively settled by India’s highest judicial authority.
The Adani Group contends that FT’s proposed narrative selectively misrepresents publicly available facts and information, deliberately disregarding judicial decisions to arrive at a predetermined conclusion. This approach shows a lack of respect for India’s regulatory and judicial processes.
The group emphasizes that coal procurement in India is conducted through a transparent global bidding process, eliminating the potential for price manipulation. Tariff fixation by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) is an open and independent process that carefully considers all variables.
The Adani Group expresses its disappointment with foreign entities like the OCCRP, some sections of the foreign media, short-sellers, and domestic collaborators who it believes are launching coordinated attacks aimed at damaging the company’s market value. It suggests that these actions are timed to coincide with important court hearings in India.
In closing, the Adani Group vehemently denies all allegations, asserting that it is a law-abiding company fully compliant with all regulations and disclosure requirements, and respects the rule of law.