Adani’s Brother: Hindenburg calls Vinod Adani “one of the key players working behind the scenes”
The Indian Business tycoon Gautam Adani’s Brother Vinod Adani has been named in the US Short seller Hindenburg report, on February 17th, as the “centre of financial flows that leverage one group of Adani assets to send loans to another.”.
The report accused the Adani Group of massive accounting fraud and stock manipulation. Vinod Shantilal Adani, the elder brother of Gautam Adani, was named as one of the key players working behind the scenes. The market value of the listed companies of the Adani Group has decreased by $120 billion since the report’s publication on January 24th.
According to the Hindenburg report, the 60-year-old businessman is said to be controlled by a “vast labyrinth of offshore shell entities” that had “collectively moved billions of dollars into Adani publicly listed and private entities, often without required disclosure of the related party nature of the deals”.
“Just don’t call him a related party”: Forbes Magazine
“Forbes is out with a major article evidencing hidden Adani promoter pledges: A private Vinod Adani-controlled Singaporean entity pledged Adani promoter stakes for $240m in loans from a Russian bank. Zero disclosure of these pledges to Indian exchanges,” tweeted Hindenburg on Friday.
Forbes is out with a major article evidencing hidden Adani promoter pledges:
A private Vinod Adani-controlled Singaporean entity pledged Adani promoter stakes for ~$240m in loans from a Russian bank.
Zero disclosure of these pledges to Indian exchanges.https://t.co/7iYyKmMNc8
— Hindenburg Research (@HindenburgRes) February 17, 2023
The Forbes Magazines wrote, “Vinod Adani, the longtime Indian expat, is at the heart of a global web of offshore companies with ties to the Adani Group. Just don’t call him a related party.” Vinod Adani runs trade companies in Singapore, Jakarta, Dubai, and other locations. According to the Hurun India Rich List, he is the richest non-resident Indian in the world.
Vinod Adani’s name in Panama Papers
Vinod Adani runs his own company in Dubai, and the Adani Group used this as a justification to separate itself from Vinod after he was identified in the Panama Papers. In 1994, according to that report, he allegedly established a shell company in the tax haven of the Bahamas. Later, the Panama Papers revealed that he had formed a second shell company in the British Virgin Islands.
After several controversies, the Adani Group distanced itself from the family member, but the Hindenburg investigation placed him at the centre of the fraud in its report. The Adani Group’s equities, which were then pledged as collateral for more loans, are said to have increased in value due to the network of shell businesses managed by Vinod Adani.
“Indirectly Managed“
According to the Forbes report dated February 17th, Vinod Adani allegedly pledged Adani Group promoter stocks for a loan from Russia’s VTB bank through Singapore-based Pinnacle Trade and Investment Pte. Lte, which was “indirectly managed.”
Forbes has claimed that Pinnacle signed a credit agreement with VTB, the second-largest bank in Russia, in 2020. The report stated that by April 2021, Pinnacle had borrowed $263 million and loaned out $258 million to an unidentified connected entity.
According to Singaporean filings, Pinnacle provided two investment funds as guarantors for the loan from the Russian state-owned bank. Afro Asia Trade and Investments Ltd and Global Developing Market Holding Limited were the names of these investment funds.
Vinod Adani is the “ultimate beneficial owner of Mauritius-based Acropolis Trading and Investments Limited, which in turn controls 100% of Global Developing Market Holding Limited,” according to the Forbes stories that linked two Indian stock exchange filings from June 2020 and August 2022.
Forbes story claims, Pinnacle’s loan from the Russian bank was “essentially secured by the value of the funds’ Adani business shares,” It also stated that for the four Adani companies in which they have investments, “neither fund has disclosed share promises in Indian financial filings.”
Read more- SC to hear PIL against Adani Group as it goes for audit
According to Forbes, neither Vinod Adani nor the Adani Group responded to a request for comment.
The lesser known Adani brother, with a company in Dubai, a Cypriot passport, and a permanent address in Singapore, has an unknown birthdate.
His ownership of Global Emerging Market and Endeavour Trading, which hold ACC and Ambuja shares in addition to Adani Group stocks, significantly contributes to his $1.3 billion net worth.
In addition to the UAE and Singapore, he also owns 60 properties in tax havens like the Bahamas, Mauritius, the Cayman Islands, and the British Virgin Islands.
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