On Monday, May 15, Congress chief Jairam Ramesh took to social media to accuse the BJP authorities and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) of misleading the people pertaining to the investigation into the Adani Group.
In a tweet (archive), he claimed, “The Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, told the Lok Sabha on 19th July 2021 that SEBI was investigating the Adani Group. Now SEBI tells the Supreme Court that they have not been investigating any of the serious allegations against Adani!”
“Which is worse—misleading Parliament, or being fast asleep as lakhs of investors are duped by alleged money laundering and round-tripping using offshore shell companies? Or even worse, was there a restraining hand from above?” he extra added.
The Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, instructed the Lok Sabha on nineteenth July 2021 that SEBI was investigating the Adani Group.
Now SEBI tells the Supreme Court that they have not been investigating any of the extraordinary allegations in opposition to Adani!
Which is worse—misleading… pic.twitter.com/GWCcB9VkSO
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) May 15, 2023
Jairam Ramesh shared the reply of Union Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, throughout the Lok Sabha dated July 19, 2021, in response to a question by Trinamool Congress MP regarding Adani group.
Chaudhary had educated [pdf] the House that six corporations of the Adani Group have been listed on Indian stock exchanges and that just a few of them have been being probed by SEBI and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).
“Yes Ma’am. SEBI is investigating some Adani Group companies with regard to compliance with SEBI Regulations. Further, the DRI is investigating certain entities belonging to the Adani Group of Companies under laws administered by it,” he instructed TMC MP Mahua Moitra.
The Union Minister of State for Finance moreover educated that the Enforcement Directorate should not be ending up any such investigation. The TMC chief had requested a particular question regarding a probe by SEBI throughout the issuance of Global Depository Receipt (GDR) of positive Indian-listed corporations.
She inquired, “Whether it is a fact that three funds namely Albula Investment Fund Ltd, Cresta Fund Ltd, and APMS Investment Fund Ltd are in the SEBI frozen list of May and 15th June but a clarification is issued by NSDL that these accounts are not frozen in the case of Adani companies and if so, the details thereof?”
At that time, Pankaj Chaudhary talked about, “SEBI vide Order dated June 16, 2016, had directed depositories to freeze particular beneficiary accounts of certain FPIs including Albula Investment Fund Ltd., Cresta Fund Ltd, and APMS Investment Fund Ltd. However, no Order in respect of other beneficiary accounts of these three FPIs has been passed by SEBI.”
The affidavit filed by SEBI in Supreme Court
On Monday (May 15), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) filed a rejoinder affidavit whereby it rubbished allegations that the regulatory physique is investigating the Adani Group since 2016.
It talked about, “The allegation that the Securities and Exchange Board of India is investigating Adani since 2016 is factually baseless. The reliance sought to be placed on the investigation pertaining to GDRs is wholly misplaced.”
Hindenburg report on Adani: SEBI tells Supreme Court has not probed any Adani agency since 2016, desires 6 months to submit report
report by @DebayonRoy https://t.co/Tx8epOKSra
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) May 15, 2023
SEBI instructed the Supreme Court that it made the first request to overseas regulators to help look at the allegations of breach of Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) norms in opposition to the Adani group in October 2020.
“The first request to overseas regulators was made as early as October 6, 2020. A detailed note has been submitted to the expert committee constituted by this court covering the steps taken, responses received and the current status of information gathering under the Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMOU) with the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO),” it talked about in its affidavit.
Jairam Ramesh ignored this particular reality launched by SEBI sooner than the Supreme Court and centered solely on the regulatory physique’s denial that Adani Group is being investigated since 2016. The Congress chief chosen to withhold a key piece of data whereas accusing SEBI and BJP of lying to the people.
The Missing Context and the 2016 GDR Case
It must be talked about that SEBI’s affidavit sooner than the apex courtroom was in response to a 2016 investigation in opposition to 51 Indian corporations and 59 Global Depository Receipt (GDR), which was issued between 2002 and 2014.
Opindia was able to entry the order [pdf] dated June 16, 2016, and situated that not one of many listed corporations of Adani Group operate throughout the guidelines of corporations, which have been being investigated by SEBI in 2016.
As such, the regulatory physique was correct when it educated the Supreme Court that the declare about probing Adani Group with respect to the GDR case was ‘totally misplaced’ and ‘baseless.’
This, nonetheless, does not contradict the response of Minster Pankaj Chaudhary in 2021, about SEBI and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) investigating the Adani Group “with regard to compliance with SEBI Regulations.”
List of 51 corporations investigated by SEBI in 2016
List of 51 corporations investigated by SEBI in 2016 (contd.)
This is because of the case in that event was of Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs), which is starkly fully completely different from the 2016 case of Global Depository Receipt (GDR). In reality, Mahua Moitra’s question notably talked about FPIs and by no means GDR.
The newest affidavit filed by SEBI in Supreme Court about not investigating the Adani Group was throughout the context of the GDR case, which is quoted out of context by Jairam Ramesh to insinuate that the regulatory physique and the BJP authorities are misleading the people.
In actuality, the Congress chief happens to be the one misleading most of the people by withholding such a key piece of data. He even shrewdly neglected the assertion of SEBI within the equivalent affidavit about communication with worldwide regulators as early as September 2020 for probing corporations linked to the Adani Group.