SEBI probing Adani Group's ties with Gulf Asia fund: Report
Adani Group and Gulf Asia Trade & Investment, a fund that is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, news agency Reuters reported on October 11, citing sources who are privy to the development. The investigation has been launched to ascertain whether any share ownership rules were flouted, the report claimed, on the basis of inputs it received from two persons who are aware of the matter. The Gulf Asia fund, the report said, is owned by Dubai-based businessman Nasser Ali Shaban Ali as per the checks on its website last month.
The website has since been pulled down, it added. As per the date shared by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) with Reuters, the fund has invested in several listed Adani entities. Exciting news! Mint is now on WhatsApp Channels. Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest financial insights! Click here! The latest probe, as per the report, is part of the Indian market regulator's investigation into the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate, which was accused of accountancy fraud and stocks manipulation, in a damning report released by short-seller Hindenburg Research in January.
The report had alleged that offshore shell firms "surreptitiously" owned stake in Adani's listed arms, thereby posing governance risks. The SEBI probing officials could be closely looking at whether the ties between the Gulf Asia fund and Adani Group would be deemed to be acting “in concert" with the conglomerate's shareholders, the sources who spoke to Reuters said. Adani Group has so far rejected the allegation of opaque funding and accountancy fraud.
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