New Delhi: The Financial Times has said that it will not be complying with the Adani Group’s demand to take down an article saying that “almost half of all foreign direct investment (FDI) into Gautam Adani’s conglomerate between 2017 and 2022 came from offshore entities linked to his family”.“The article is accurate and carefully prepared. We stand by our reporting,” the Financial Times told The Telegraph.The story published on March 22 said that “most offshore shell companies supplying FDI to the conglomerate have been disclosed as part of Adani’s ‘promoter group’, meaning they are closely tied to Adani or his immediate family”.“Almost half of the Adani Group’s $5.7 billion (approximately Rs 46,818 crore) FDI inflows came from opaque overseas entities with connections to the group,” FT reported.The newspaper quoted Jonas Heese, associate professor at Harvard Business School’s accounting and management unit, as saying, “Why do you make it so complex that it’s very difficult for outsiders to understand? I think that is a legitimate question to ask.”The analysts cited in the report raised concerns over “money moving from obscure Mauritius entities” into the group because “it was impossible to ascertain whether or not the funds had been ’round-tripped’,” an arrangement considered illegal in India.On April 10, the Adani Group responded by saying, “We understand the competitive race to tear down Adani can be alluring. But we are fully compliant with securities laws and are not obscuring promoter ownership and financing.”“Through the creation of a misleading narrative, your story has created reputational impact on Adani Group companies. We ask you to take down the story immediately from your website,” the company’s statement continued.After US short seller Hindenburg Research on January 24 released its report accusing the conglomerate of stock manipulation and accounting fraud, which led to a Adani stock rout, the firms’ ‘opaque’ offshore dealings came into limelight.The group has denied all the allegations.
