Report alleges hidden investors in Adani group, stocks slide

The news: A new investigative report has found hidden investors linked to the Adani family used offshore structures to buy and sell shares in the Indian conglomerate’s listed businesses.

The numbers: The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) report says millions of dollars were invested in publicly traded Adani Group stocks through offshore funds between 2013 and 2018. The news prompted a fresh bout of selling in the group’s stocks, which dropped between 2-4% in trading in Mumbai.

The context: The OCCRP report, citing two individual investors linked to the billionaire Indian family that it alleges discreetly acquired stock in the group’s own companies, has renewed corporate governance concerns. It comes after US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research earlier this year accused the Adani Group of improper business dealings, resulting in the conglomerate’s shares losing more than USD100 billion in market value. The group, controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani, on Thursday categorically rejected the allegations, according to media reports.