Swiss authorities freeze USD 311 mn of alleged Adani proxy, Adani Group denies any link

PTI, Sep 13, 2024, 1:47 PM IST

Swiss authorities have frozen USD 311 million (Rs 2,610 crore) held by a Taiwanese resident in multiple Swiss bank accounts as part of money laundering probe, suspecting he may be a frontman from the Adani group — a charge the conglomerate vehemently denied saying it was neither involved in any Swiss court proceedings nor any of its accounts are subject to sequestration.

US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research, which had last year targeted the Adani group in a damning report that led to wiping away of USD 150 billion in market value of listed firms of the conglomerate in the following weeks, in a post on X cited “newly released Swiss criminal records reported by Swiss media outlet” to state that “Swiss authorities have frozen more than $310 million in funds across multiple Swiss bank accounts as part of a money laundering and securities forgery investigation into Adani, dating back as early as 2021.” “Prosecutors detailed how an Adani frontman invested in opaque BVI/Mauritius & Bermuda funds that almost exclusively owned Adani stocks,” it said citing the report.

Adani group rejected the allegations as baseless saying it had no involvement in any Swiss court proceedings.

“We unequivocally reject and deny the baseless allegations presented. The Adani Group has no involvement in any Swiss court proceedings, nor have any of our company accounts been subject to sequestration by any authority,” it said.

The Swiss media outlet Gotham City in its report stated that a ruling by the Federal Criminal Court (FCC) reveals that the Geneva Public Prosecutor’s Office was investigating alleged wrongdoing and more than USD 310 million belonging to an alleged front man for billionaire Gautam Adani have been sequestered in five Swiss banks over the last three years.

The Swiss investigators suspect that the associate, Chang Chung-Ling, is not the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) of the company under investigation, but a mere front.

The Adani Group, however, said that the court order was not linked to them and they have not been mentioned in it.

“Even in the alleged order, the Swiss court has neither mentioned our group companies, nor have we received any requests for clarification or information from any such authority or regulatory body. We reiterate that our overseas holding structure is transparent, fully disclosed, and compliant with all relevant laws,” the conglomerate said.

The allegations, it said, “are clearly preposterous, irrational, and absurd. We have no hesitation in stating that this is yet another orchestrated and egregious attempt by the same cohorts acting in unison to inflict irreversible damage on our group’s reputation and market value.” “The Adani Group remains steadfastly committed to transparency and compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements,” it said.

The name of Chang Chung-Ling had first surfaced in the 2023 Hindenburg report that alleged stock market manipulation, accounting fraud and money laundering at Adani Group. Adani Group has repeatedly denied all charges.

He was alleged to have made substantial profits by buying and selling Adani stocks through offshore funds and that he was the sole director of Growmore, allegedly a shell company based in Mauritius used to siphon off funds.

According to Hindenburg, Growmore netted an overnight USD 423 million gain through a stock merger with Adani Power.

Chung-Ling’s son, Chang Chien-Ting was identified as the alleged sole beneficial owner of PMC Projects (India), which along with Growmore and Adani Global were firms that were investigated by SEBI over related-party transactions. The outcome of the SEBI probe is not known.

According to the Swiss media report, a court order of August 9, 2024, which was published on September 10, 2024, stated that the Adani Group is “suspected of engaging in illicit activities, including money laundering and embezzlement”.

An entity controlled by Chang Chung-Ling invested substantial amounts of money entrusted to him by the Adani Group in “opaque funds”.

Hindenburg claimed that criminal court records show in detail how an Adani frontman invested in opaque BVI/Mauritius and Bermuda funds that almost exclusively owned Adani stock.