Congress flags Vinod Adani’s alleged shell companies

In the latest series of Hum Adani Ke Hain Kaun, the party says PM Modi got his ‘drumbeaters’ to adjourn Parliament to avoid JPC demand

Under the Hum Adani Ke Hain Kaun (HAHK) series, the Congress on Monday posed a fresh set of questions about Vinod Adani’s alleged network of shell companies engaging in “opaque” financial transactions and claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi got his “drumbeaters” to get Parliament adjourned so that the demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) into the Adani issue is not raised.

In his latest statement, Congress general secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said the Adani Group has repeatedly brushed aside questions about Vinod Adani, elder brother of the Group’s chairperson Gautam Adani, by claiming that he is uninvolved with decision-making but fresh disclosures show this to be a “laughable deception”.

“The PM got his drumbeaters to get Parliament adjourned today so that the demand for JPC into the Adani Maha Mega Scam does not get raised. But that will not stop HAHK-27,” Mr. Ramesh tweeted, urging the Prime Minister to break his silence.

In his statement, Mr. Ramesh said: “In the February 19 Hum Adani Ke Hain Kaun, we had pointed to the Adani Group announcement on September 16, 2022, that ‘the Adani Family, through Endeavour Trade and Investment Ltd, a special purpose vehicle, has successfully completed the acquisition of Ambuja Cements Ltd and ACC Ltd’ and a SEBI filing that stated ‘the ultimate beneficial ownership of the Acquirer is held by Mr. Vinod Shantilal Adani and Mrs. Ranjanben Vinod Adani’. If Vinod Adani is at such arm’s length from the Adani Group, how have Adani Enterprises executives become senior managers at Ambuja Cements and ACC?”

Why does the Competition Commission of India assert that Endeavour belongs to the Adani Group, he asked. The Congress leader cited media reports to argue that the shell company Acropolis Trade and Investment owns Xcent Trade and Investment, which in turn owns Endeavour.

“The Mauritius-based Acropolis and Xcent both have Subir Mittra, who heads the Adani Family Office, as a director. Vinod Adani is a director in Acropolis, which reported $7 billion (₹51,400 crore) as revenue and profit (given near-zero expenses) in 2020-21 but zero income and a $25,980 loss in 2021-22,” the Congress claimed.

How does a shell company that owns these critical infrastructure firms have revenues of ₹51,400 crore in one year and zero the next, Mr. Ramesh asked, adding, ”Will agencies like the Enforcement Directorate ever investigate where these funds are coming from and where are they going?”.