Gautam Adani Photo credit: Reuters
Swiss authorities have frozen $311 million (₹2,610 crore) held by a Taiwanese national in multiple Swiss bank accounts as part of a money-laundering investigation, suspecting he may be a frontman for the Adani group – an allegation the conglomerate vehemently denies he was involved. . in any Swiss court proceeding or its account is subject to sequestration.
The short seller Hindenburg Research in the US, which last year targeted the Adani group in a report that led to the removal of $ 150 billion from the market value of the listed conglomerate in the following weeks, in a post on ‘X’ noted “the recently released Swiss criminal record that was reported by a Swiss media outlet” to state that “Swiss authorities have frozen more than $310 million in funds in multiple Swiss bank accounts as part of a money laundering and securities forgery investigation into Adani, as early as 2021.”
“The prosecution detailed how Adani’s frontman invested in BVI/Mauritius & Bermuda funds that almost exclusively held Adani shares,” the report said.
The Adani group dismissed the allegations as unfounded saying it was not involved in the Swiss court proceedings.
“We unequivocally deny and deny the allegations that have been made. The Adani Group has not been involved in any Swiss court proceedings, nor has our company’s account been subject to sequestration by any authority,” he said.
The Swiss media outlet Gotham City in its report stated that the verdict of the Federal Criminal Court (FCC) revealed that the Geneva Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating allegations of wrongdoing and that more than $310 million owned by the alleged frontman for billionaire Gautam Adani has been placed in five Swiss banks during three years ago.
Swiss investigators suspect that the associate, Chang Chung-Ling, is not the most important owner (UBO) of the company under investigation, but only a front.
The Adani Group, however, said the court’s order was irrelevant and was not mentioned in it.
“Despite the allegations, the Swiss court did not mention our group company, nor did it accept any request for clarification or information from these authorities or regulatory bodies. with all relevant laws,” the conglomerate said.
The accusation, he said, “is clearly preposterous, irrational, and absurd. We do not hesitate to state that this is another organized and egregious attempt by the same cohort to act together to cause irreversible damage to the reputation and value of the market our group.”
“The Adani Group remains committed to transparency and compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements,” he said.
Chang Chung-Ling’s name first appeared in the 2023 Hindenburg report accusing him of stock market manipulation, accounting fraud and money laundering at the Adani Group. Adani Group has repeatedly denied all allegations.
He is alleged to have made huge profits by buying and selling Adani shares through an offshore fund and he is the sole director of Growmore, which is allegedly a shell company based in Mauritius used to siphon funds.
According to Hindenburg, Growmore made a profit of $423 million overnight through the merger of shares with Adani Power.
Chung-Ling’s son Chang Chien-Ting was identified as the sole beneficiary of PMC Projects (India), which along with Growmore and Adani Global are companies under investigation by SEBI for related party transactions. The outcome of the SEBI probe is unknown.
According to Swiss media reports, the court order dated August 9, which was issued on September 10, stated that the Adani Group “is accused of engaging in illegal activities, including money laundering and embezzlement”.
Entities controlled by Chang Chung-Ling invested large amounts of money entrusted by the Adani Group in “opaque funds”.
Hindenburg claimed that criminal court records show in detail how Adani’s frontman invested in BVI/Mauritius and Bermuda funds that almost exclusively owned Adani shares.
Published – 13 September 2024 20:58 IST
