As new allegations against billionaire Gautam Adani’s group surface, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) contends that India’s emergence as a strong nation is a thorn in the side for its detractors. The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), funded by prominent organisations like Soros and Rockefeller Brothers Fund, accused the Adani Group of laundering hundreds of millions of dollars through Mauritius-based ‘opaque’ investment funds.
The Congress Party immediately seized on these allegations, demanding a joint parliamentary committee investigation into purported corruption involving shell companies connected to the Adani conglomerate.
Responding to media queries, BJP National Spokesperson Sayed Jafar Islam attributed these accusations to forces opposed to India’s ascent as a powerful nation. “India, which used to be a soft nation, is today emerging as a strong nation. This is an eyesore for many people,” Islam said. He urged patience, stating that specialised agencies would examine the matter in due course.
These fresh allegations by OCCRP follow a damaging report by U.S.-based short-selling firm Hindenburg Research, which, months earlier, had erased nearly $150 billion from Adani group stock valuations, citing accounting fraud, stock manipulation, and improper use of tax havens.
In a swift rebuttal, the Adani Group dismissed OCCRP’s claims as “recycled allegations” aimed at resurrecting the discredited Hindenburg report. The conglomerate labelled it a “concerted bid by Soros-funded interests.”
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh questioned the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for not adequately investigating the role of shell companies linked to Adani. Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has petitioned the Supreme Court to take notice of OCCRP’s “investigative report.”
AAP’s Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh alleged that both SEBI and the committee set up to investigate the previous Hindenburg allegations have misled the Supreme Court, attributing this alleged manipulation to Gautam Adani’s close friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. OCCRP describes itself as an investigative journalism platform consisting of 24 non-profit investigative centres scattered across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
With opposition parties intensifying their attacks and regulatory bodies under scrutiny, it remains to be seen how these fresh allegations against one of India’s most significant business empires will be adjudicated.
