Opposition events led by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge march from Parliament House to Enforcement Directorate (ED) workplace to submit a grievance over the Adani issue, in New Delhi on March 15, 2023
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
Leaders of a number of opposition events on Wednesday urged the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to provoke an investigation into the Adani Group over allegations of corrupt practices, together with cash laundering via shell corporations.
In a letter emailed to the ED Director S.Okay. Mishra, the events instructed the probe company that “it cannot turn around and abdicate its jurisdiction”.
The letter as signed by leaders of the Congress, CPI, CPI-M, JDU, SS (UBT), RJD, DMK, JMM, AAP, IUML, VCK, Kerala Congress and others.
Leaders of a number of opposition events had been stopped by the police at Vijay Chowk right here as they took out a protest march from Parliament House to hand over a grievance to the Enforcement Directorate on the Adani issue.
In their letter to the ED, the opposition leaders stated, “We are acutely aware of how in the recent past, the ED has also zealously pursued cases of alleged political favouritism, including sharing concurrent jurisdiction with SEBI and CBI. We are also aware of the limited remit of the Supreme Court Commission appointed on the subject. We point this out so as to remind the ED that it cannot turn around and abdicate its jurisdiction on these or other grounds”.
“In light of the above, we, the members of the Opposition, ask that you take immediate action on the above mentioned allegations,” they instructed the ED director.
The letter additional claimed that over the past three months, a number of essential items of proof have been made out there towards the Adani Group within the public area.
“Yet, the Enforcement Directorate, which claims to pursue such cases with vigour and fairness, is yet to launch even a preliminary enquiry into these very serious charges.
“As a consequence, we’re constrained to file this official grievance in order that the ED is compelled to examine a relationship that has critical implications not only for our financial system however most significantly, our democracy,” they said.
Sharing the contents of the letter on Twitter, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “Leaders and MPs of 16 opposition events, who had been going to hand over a grievance letter demanding probe into the Adani rip-off to the ED, had been stopped from reaching the ED workplace this afternoon”.
‘Serious charges’
The opposition leaders also alleged that this case involves serious and far-reaching charges of corporate fraud, political corruption, stock-price manipulation through fraudulent means, and the misuse/monopolisation of public resources to benefit a single corporate group.
In the letter, the leaders alleged that the Adani Group companies are accused of having established a network of offshore shell companies and offshore funds controlled by parties related to the Adani Group for the purposes of “artificially inflating inventory valuations and to give a distorted image with regard to the group corporations’ monetary well being”.
The Adani Group has rubbished all the charges made out against its companies and denied any “wrongdoing” as earlier alleged by the U.S.-based Hindenburg report.
In the letter, the opposition also mentioned recovery of drugs made from Mundra port in September 2021, alleging there has been absolutely no serious investigation into the company charged with running the port on whose watch this grave crime occurred.
“Given the cross border implications, it is much more stunning that the jurisdiction of the ED was by no means invoked within the investigation,” the opposition leaders alleged.
Talking of the debt that the Adani Group has taken from various public sector banks, the opposition leaders alleged that there is “a transparent sample of corruption, cronyism and routine law-breaking”.
“It is stunning that regardless of the entire above, the ED has proven little to no real interest in pursuing a primary investigation into the entities’ affairs,” in addition they alleged.
