NEW DELHI (TIP): The Supreme Court on Friday, March 7, refused to halt the ongoing work on the Dharavi redevelopment project, which is being executed by Adani Properties Pvt Ltd. However, a Bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna issued notices to the Maharashtra government and Adani Properties Pvt Ltd, seeking their responses to a petition filed by UAE-based Seclink Technologies Corporation.
Tag: Adani
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After Fitch, Moody’s also switches outlook on Adani group firms to ‘negative’
NEW YORK (TIP): Moody’s Ratings has on Tuesday , November 26, 2024, affirmed the ratings of seven Adani Group companies from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’. In a statement the global rating firm said, “At the same time, we have changed the outlook on all seven issuers to negative from stable.”
Earlier on Tuesday , November 26, 2024, Fitch Ratings also put Adani group firms on a negative rating watch.
The seven affected issuers are:
1. Adani Green Energy Limited Restricted Group (AGEL RG-1), which comprises Adani Green Energy (UP) Limited; Parampujya Solar Energy Private Limited; Prayatna Developers Private Limited,
2. Adani Green Energy Limited Restricted Group (AGEL RG-2), which comprises Wardha Solar (Maharashtra) Private Limited, Kodangal Solar Parks Private Limited and Adani Renewable Energy (Rj) Limited,
3. Adani Transmission Step-One Limited (ATSOL), Adani Transmission Restricted Group 1 (AESL RG1), which comprises Barmer Power Transmission Service Limited; Raipur-Rajnandgaon-Warora Transmission Ltd;
4. Sipat Transmission Limited; Thar Power Transmission Service Limited; Hadoti Power Transmission Service Limited; Chhattisgarh-WR Transmission Limited, and 5. Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited (AEML).
6.Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) and
7. Adani International Container Terminal Private Ltd (AICTPL) have also been subjected to an outlook change from stable to negative, Moody’s said.Moody’s said its rating actions follow the indictment of Adani Green Energy Ltd’s (AGEL) chairman Gautam Adani and several senior management team members by the US Attorney’s Office in a criminal case and the filing of charges by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a civil case. The charges and allegations include: (1) bribery of Indian government officials, (2) securities and wire fraud, (3) conspiracy to violate the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and obstruct justice, (4) false statements made in AGEL’s annual reports, and (5) false statements made to the US government in relation to its investigation into the group.
Identifying governance risks as material for its rating action, Moody’s said the negative outlook considers that this indictment of Mr. Adani and other senior Adani executives “will likely weaken Adani Group’s access to funding and increase its capital costs” and recognizes “the possibility of broader weaknesses in the governance structure across the rated Adani group entities as well as potential operational disruptions, including on their capital spending plans, while legal proceedings are going”.
“Although the allegations and the charges made by US Attorney’s Office and SEC pertain to AGEL’s chairman and senior management team members, we believe they could have a broader credit impact on all rated Adani Group issuers, given Gautam Adani’s prominent role as chairman of each of the rated entities or their parent companies as well as the controlling shareholder,” it reasoned.
The firm said an upgrade of these firms’ ratings is unlikely in the near term, given the negative outlook on all seven issuers. “However, we could change the rating outlooks to stable if legal proceedings conclude clearly with no material negative credit impact,” it noted, adding that the rated firms could also be subjected to downgrades based on specific risks relating to each business, including “access to funding” challenges that may arise for a couple of them.
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An Open Letter to United States Congress
Ref.: Unknown US companies and individuals providing services or products including raising capital in violation of The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) standards and dealing with a Ghost company working for Russia in violation of US sanctions against Russia.
Hon. Chairman McHenry, Hon. Chairman Wyden & Committee Members: Greetings.
The undersigned wants to draw the attention of the Honorable Committee that unknown US companies and individuals are providing services or products including raising capital to two Indian business entities that has become a threat to US Financial System and Security of our country. It is my humble request to the Honorable members of the committees to investigate these unknown US companies and individuals that have provided or are providing services or products or capital to the two Indian corporations in gross violation of various US Laws.
- Adani Group is raising money in USA for the last 4 years in violation of US Laws:
Adani Group of companies is owned by Gautam Adani with personal relations with India’s PM Modi dating back to the late 1990’s. It won’t be an exaggeration if Gautam Adani is called “The Poster Boy of Gangster Capitalism of India.” Adani’s status as a recipient of favors from Narendra Modi of BJP has been the subject of continuous criticism in India since Modi was Chief Minister of the State of Gujarat for 13 years from 2001 to 2014. The favors gathered speed after Modi took over as PM of India in 2014. Prior to Modi entering Gujarat politics in 1998, Adani was a key ally of Gujarat BJP leaders for years. BJP has been ruling Gujarat since 1995 to the present and it is a well-known fact that Adani helped Modi to become CM of Gujarat in 2001 and later PM of India in 2014. Harvard’s ranking of states and districts in Human Development Index; Gujarat has the lowest rank at 28 out of 28. India’s ranking under PM Modi in the United Nations HDI has fallen to 132 of 191 countries in 2022.
Forbes, Jul 17, 2014: Adani has, over the years, leased 7,350 hectares–much of which he got from 2005 onward–from the (Modi) government in Mundra. He got the 30-year, renewable leases for as little as one U.S. cent a square meter (the rate maxed out at 45 cents a square meter). He in turn has sublet this land to other companies, including state-owned Indian Oil Co., for as much as $11 per square meter. Between 2005 and 2007 at least 1,200 hectares of grazing land was taken away from villagers. See Link # 12 & 8 Adani News
Newsclick EXCLUSIVE: How Gujarat Government Helped Adani’s Port Company
The Adani Group was established in 1988 and became publicly traded in 1994. But its real rise happened under Modi’s reign in Gujarat. From 2002 to March 2013 the group’s revenue rose from $765 million to $8.8 billion while net profits climbed even faster. Gautam Adani’s meteoric success started under CM Modi of Gujarat in 2001 and became an exceptional international story after Modi became PM of India in 2014. From an importer of primary polymers for small-scale industries, Adani grew to become the biggest private operator of ports, Airports, and largest producer of electricity, under the preferential patronage of PM Modi. In addition, the Adani group has substantial interests in a variety of sectors: defense, coal mining, oil and gas exploration, gas distribution, transmission and distribution of electricity, civil construction and infrastructure, multi-modal logistics, international trade, education, real estate, edible oils, and food storage. His companies currently trade in over 30 commodities with at least 28 countries. At the same time, Adani ports are notorious for drug hauls for billions of dollars in India. See Link # 13 & 14 Adani.
(https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-58634575)
(https://thewire.in/government/heroin-seuzure-adani-mundra-worry-indian-authorities)
The fact that Adani Group is tightly controlled by family members with very dubious records is well known in India and in countries where they are operating. The corporate structure is totally opaque with dozens of shell companies in various tax havens since the inception of Adani Group. The money is hard to track. Most have flowed into trusts, which don’t report financial results, making it impossible to tell where it ended up. In other instances, recipients simply report in filings that the funds came from a “related party,” offering no other details. And public disclosure in Mauritius, the Cayman Islands and UAE is scant. Moreover in 2018, the provision of dealing with an ‘opaque structure’ and requiring a Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) to disclose every ultimate natural person at the end of the chain of every owner of economic interest with the FPI was done away with by Modi government to benefit Adani.” This rickety structure has become a debt-ridden house of cards with rapid diversification after 2014 when Modi become PM of India.
Louis Vuitton. Tesla. Amazon, Apple, Microsoft; the businesses behind the richest people in the world need no introduction. But last year, Gautam Adani, a state -created Billionaire, a name that does not command the same global recognition joined this rarefied list by becoming the 2nd richest person in the world in Sep 2022, with a net worth of $154 billion, up from $70 Million in 1998. The overall market capitalization of the 10 Adani Group stocks stood at its peak of $232 billion on Jan. 24, 2023, the day New York based Hindenburg Research released its report.
Hindenburg accused that Adani group has “engaged in a brazen stock price manipulation, stock parking, accounting fraud, round tripping of cash, Import-Export scams, money laundering through 38 offshore shell companies etc. over the course of decades.” The report describes a galaxy of shell entities based in the Caribbean, Mauritius and the United Arab Emirates controlled by the Adani family. Further it accused that Gautam Adani’s elder brother Vinod Adani has played a pivotal part in perpetuating what it alleged is “the largest con in corporate history.” See Link # 1 Adani News
Then on Jan 29th, 2023, Adani group in its 413-page written rebuttal, denounced Hindenburg’s report as “baseless” and “malicious,” and accused the firm of having an “ulterior motive” for publishing the “missive.” It said Hindenburg’s actions represent a “calculated attack on India, the independence, integrity, and quality of Indian institutions, and the growth story and ambition of India.” See Link # 2 Adani News
Same day on Jan 29, 2023, Hindenburg Research replied, “Fraud Cannot Be Obfuscated By Nationalism Or A Bloated Response That Ignores Every Key Allegation We Raised. See Link # 3 Adani News
(https://hindenburgresearch.com/adani-response/)
What Hindenburg exposed was well known to Indian journalists for a long time, but they were forced to keep quiet about Adani’s meteoric rise because of fear of reprisal and heavy legal cost for defending themselves in million dollars lawsuits filed by Adani. On top of that, the world’s top reputed Mutual Fund Managers including a few Indian Managers also knew about Adani and for that reason they never invested in the Adani Group of companies. According to Fisdom Research, as of December 2022, mutual fund industry has a negligible exposure of 0.64 per cent to Adani group companies. Of which 0.18 per cent was through the passive route, where the fund manager had no option but to invest in stocks. See Link # 7 Adani News
(https://themorningcontext.com/business/why-do-these-foreign-funds-love-adani-group-companies)
Tim Buckley, an analyst in Sydney, Australia, who has followed Adani’s business for more than a decade said, “The big issue is that Adani has spent the last four years in raising debt on Wall Street. If you raise money in America, you have to play by America’s rules.”
Surprisingly even after Hindenburg Report, Rajiv Jain came up with a rosy presentation to the investors in his Fund GQG Partners, based in Florida by investing $1.9 Billion by calling Adani stocks “could be multibaggers” over five years. Can Rajiv Jain deny the existence of Shell Companies of Adani Bros that invested in Adani Group? Can Rajiv Jain deny the fact that money used by these Shell Companies (1) Could be money stolen from Indian public with the help of politicians OR (2) Could be Drug Money OR (3) illegal Arms Sale Money to Rouge Regimes or terrorist groups OR (4) Chinese Mafia Money OR (5) Russian Mafia Money OR (6) Middle East Royal Family member’s money siphoned off from their own Kingdoms. OR (7) Give detailed response/answers to 88 questions raised by Hindenburg Research.
On top of that Rajiv Jain is peddling lies in the USA based on Modi aka Indian Media reports that Indian Supreme Court has given a clean chit to Adani. Bloomberg columnist Andy Mukherjee wrote that SC panel’s job was not to return a finding on allegations against Adani by Hindenburg.
Saaransh Maurya, a 22-year-old assistant manager, has filed an affidavit in Supreme Court on behalf of SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India). Reacting to it, Shiv Senna (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote, “Must be either super experienced…or naive enough.” Meanwhile, columnist Andy Mukherjee said, “Young enough to be hero of a John Grisham…novel.” See Link # 10 Adani News
(https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/view-adani-probe-will-only-produce-heat-not- light/articleshow/100389548.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst)
According to “The Morning Context, “if you remove these [offshore] funds, the effective [public] shareholding in Adani Enterprises comes down to only 10%.” In Adani Transmission, the “effective public float is about 7-8%.” This is in violation of SEBI’s own rules that listed companies are required to maintain a minimum public holding (or free float) of 25%. This allows a company to raise money from the market. [Note that stock exchanges froze the promoter shareholding of Patanjali Foods after the company failed to meet the 25% public shareholding.] But the Supreme Court’s expert committee report says that these provisions requiring FPI to disclose “ultimate natural person” were done away with in 2018.
Adani, Jeffrey Skilling, Bernie Madoff, Ken Lay, Bernie Ebbers, Scott Sullivan, Robert Maxwell…. There’s an endless parade of swindlers who can pry apart accounting standards and financial regulations wide enough to drive a gigantic con through. They appear every 3 to 5 years. All of them have been prosecuted and locked up in Jails except Biggest Conman in Corporate history Gautam Adani. He is being defended by PM Modi’s Cabinet Ministers, BJP MP’s, Party officials, RSS & entire Media owned by friends of Modi as well as Adani; for being the biggest financial criminal in the corporate history of India; surpassing the other state created thug billionaires of India since 1947.
What the Committee needs to understand is that Adani Group has not invented anything, nor built anything, nor come up with an original business idea like Amazon. It is built on only fraudulent agenda of massively looting public wealth of India with the help of politicians. This wealth was result of the sacrifices made by millions of poor Indians who donated their hard-earned assets to build a better nation. Adani is a threat to the financial system and security of America and must be stopped from operating in America. The US companies or individuals that have helped Adani or are helping him to raise funds and investments in America must be prosecuted. These financially well qualified entities or individuals don’t have a benefit of doubt that they were not aware of Adani’s background and history. People like Rajiv Jain that are promoting Adani in America are a danger to the moral and ethical fiber of our society. Rajiv Jain has no moral & ethical values the proof is his investment in Fraudster Adani Group that may have been created by looting Indian public wealth with the help of criminal politicians installed with the looted money. Since Rajiv Jain is more concerned about “Returns on his Fund’s Investments” than Ethics & Morality, tomorrow he can promote investments in Gambling or Prostitution or Drug or Arms Cartels that can give him better returns than Adani.
2.Gatik Ship Management: A Ghost company backed by Russian’s received services from Unknown US companies or individuals in Violation of US Sanctions against Russia:
Gatik’s Main Business: Crude Oil Shipments on the Russia-India Route. Gatik purchased services related to their shipping business from American Companies despite US sanctions against Russia. These US companies must be investigated and prosecuted for working against America. See Link # 1 Gatik News
(https://www.wsj.com/articles/upstart-indian-shipper-helps-get-russian-oil-to-market-11674985846)
As India does not recognize US sanctions imposed on Russia, it became the biggest buyer of Russian crude oil. Before the Ukraine war, Russia supplied less than 1 per cent of India’s crude. It now accounts for about 30 per cent, according to official trade statistics. India benefited from millions of barrels of Russian oil, sold at a heavy discount than to other buyers. During the first quarter of 2023, the oil bought by India cost $48.03 per barrel — $10 less than the average paid by other countries, according to Kyiv School of Economics research based on Russian oil sale records. India is leading the group of ‘laundromat countries’ that buy heavily discounted Russian crude oil, refine it, and sell the processed products to European countries, thus sidestepping European & US sanctions against Russia.
Gatik which means “speed” in Sanskrit, was born out of nowhere to become the biggest transporter of Russian oil. Gatik has the postal address of a rundown Neptune Magnet Mall in Mumbai and has become one of the biggest international oil shipping giants in over the past 18 months. It owned only 2 chemical tankers in 2021 and by April 2023 it had a fleet of 58 vessels with over 50 crude oil tankers with an estimated value of over $1.6 billion. Great Eastern Shipping founded in 1948, India’s biggest private ship-owner by fleet size, has 67 ships comprising just 8 crude tankers.
Gatik also shares their Mall office/address with little known Mumbai-registered company Buena Vista Shipping that has an office in Dubai also. Nautical Job boards show the company is recruiting heavily for a variety of roles on the ships in the past year, including chief cooks and oilers. There is no information available about Gatik’s relationship with Buena Vista Shipping and who funded the rapid expansion of Gatik’s fleet is a great mystery for the international oil market.
According to the Indian Register of Shipping data most of Gatik’s ships are managed by Indian firms including Gaurik Ship Management, Geras Ship Management, Caishan Ship Management, Galena Ship Management, Zidan Ship Management and Plutos Ship Management. As per shipping database Equasis, these companies handle safety and environmental-related issues of the vessels while commercial operations are managed by Gatik.
The origins and ownership all the business associated with Gatik are a mystery and no details about the companies could be found on the Indian corporate affairs ministry’s website. But shipbrokers, analysts and commodity traders suspect a link with its biggest client: Rosneft, the Kremlin-controlled and Russia’s biggest crude oil producer. Because Rosneft is selling the cargos on a “Cost Insurance and Freight” basis meaning it is responsible for the delivery of the crude to the destination port in India-rather than the “Free on Board” basis before the Ukraine war, where the buyer was organizing the shipping. See Link # 3 Gatik News
(https://www.ft.com/content/6f81585c-321a-41fb-bcdb-579e93381671)
According to Vessels Value’s Rebecca Galanopoulos out of almost 14,000 live tankers owned by 1,361 companies, 1341 own fewer than 10 live tankers; only 20 companies, including Gatik, own 50 or more. All but two of Gatik’s vessels are registered to single-vessel companies registered in the Marshall Islands and the ownership of those companies is not public. Gatik’s ultimate beneficial owner/owners are unknown. It does not even have a functioning website. It is almost exclusively servicing Russian oil and thus could be an ultimate example of Russian oil companies who would want to get into shipping to evade western sanctions since the Ukraine war.
Gatik had majority of the Ships flagged to St. Kitts & Navis till April 2023. Now it is flagged to Gabon and Mongolia. Most Gatik’s ships do not hold insurance from any of the recognized large mutual providers from European countries. Gatik’s 34 vessels have used the protection and indemnity insurance from the American Club, which belongs to the International Group of PHYPERLINK “https://www.igpandi.org/about/”&HYPERLINK “https://www.igpandi.org/about/”I Clubs that insures most of the global tanker fleet. Lloyd’s Register and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) had provided safety certification that they have withdrawn recently and now an Indian agency is providing safety certification for most of Gatik’s vessels. See Link # 1 Gatik News
The Honorable Committee must investigate US insurers that were providing insurance to Gatik’s vessels despite sanctions against Russia. The US companies that were providing Safety Certification along with other US companies that was providing any services or goods or technology to Gatik must also be investigated for violating US sanctions against Russia.
Respectfully Submitted
Devendra Makkar
Encls.: Links to News Articles on Adani & Gatik
References to the News Articles about Adani Group of Companies:
- Adani Group: How The World’s 3rd Richest Man Is Pulling The Largest Con In Corporate History
Published on January 24, 2023
https://hindenburgresearch.com/adani/
- ADANI RESPONSE TO HINDENBURG RESEARCH: (413 PAGES)
JAN. 29, 2023
Hindenburg’s actions represent a “calculated attack on India, the independence, integrity, and quality of Indian institutions, and the growth story and ambition of India.”
- Hindenburg Research replied, “Fraud Cannot Be Obfuscated By Nationalism Or A Bloated Response That Ignores Every Key Allegation We Raised.
JAN. 29, 2023
In terms of substance, Adani’s ‘413 page’ response only included about 30 pages focused on issues related to our report. The remainder of the response consisted of 330 pages of court records, along with 53 pages of high-level financials, general information, and details on irrelevant corporate initiatives, such as how it encourages female entrepreneurship and the production of safe vegetables.
Adani Failed To Specifically Answer 62 of Our 88 Questions.
Of The Questions It Did Answer, The Group Largely Confirmed Or Attempted to Sidestep Our Findings
https://hindenburgresearch.com/adani-response/
- The Adani short sale puts investor trust in India in doubt
A rise in jingoistic nationalism has added a new element of impunity to the behavior of some corporate chiefs
26 January 2023, by Andy Mukherjee
https://www.tbsnews.net/bloomberg-special/adani-short-sale-puts-investor-trust-india-doubt-574566
- Hindenburg Gives a Master Class. Adani Flunks
The Indian tycoon’s pulled share sale shows financial globalization can mint centi-billionaires — and cancel them.
Feb. 1, 2023, By Andy Mukherjee
6. Adani Rout Puts Spotlight on Billions Flowing Through Mauritius
March 8, 2023, by Chris Kay
- Why do these foreign funds love Adani Group companies?
Several Mauritius-based investment funds have Gautam Adani-led companies as over 90% of their portfolios. Why?
April 26, 2021, by Jayshree P. Upadhyay
https://themorningcontext.com/business/why-do-these-foreign-funds-love-adani-group-companies
- EXCLUSIVE: How Gujarat Government Helped Adani’s Port Company
Feb. 7, 2020 Dilip Patel , Paranjoy Guha Thakurta
- Probe sought into Adani company’s profits from overpriced, dirty coal.
Feb 10, 2023 Nityanand Jayaraman
- View: Adani (SC) probe will only produce heat, not light
A toothless expert panel looking over the shoulder of a regulator that has its suspicions but no evidence, and no hope of generating any without the help of other sleuthing agencies, means only one thing: No matter how long it goes on, the Adani probe will only produce heat, not light.
May 21, 2023, by Andy Mukherjee
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/view-adani-probe-will-only-produce-heat-not-light/articleshow/100389548.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
- Deloitte Flags Adani Ports Deals, Cites Need for Review
Auditor spotlights transactions with Hindenburg named firms.
Can’t comment without an external independent review: Deloitte.
May 31, 2023, By Advait Palepu and Chris Kay
- Indian Billionaire Gautam Adani Finds A Savior In The Modi Govt
Adani has, over the years, leased 7,350 hectares–much of which he got from 2005 onward–from the government in Mundra. He got the 30-year, renewable leases for as little as one U.S. cent a square meter (the rate maxed out at 45 cents a square meter). He in turn has sublet this land to other companies, including state-owned Indian Oil Co., for as much as $11 a square meter. Between 2005 and 2007 at least 1,200 hectares of grazing land was taken away from villagers.
Jul 17, 2014, by Meghna Bahree
- Mundra Port: Nearly three tons of heroin seized at Gujarat port
21 September 2021
Indian anti-smuggling intelligence officials have seized nearly three tons of heroin – reportedly worth around $2.7bn (£1.9bn) – in a major operation at a port in Gujarat state.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-58634575
- Heroin Seizures at Adani’s Mundra Remain a Source of Worry for Indian Authorities
Aug. 3, 2022
https://thewire.in/government/heroin-seuzure-adani-mundra-worry-indian-authorities
- The Adani Files (Australia)
A short history of corruption, destruction, and criminal activity.
https://adanifiles.com.au/#crime-corrupt
References to the News Articles about Gatik Ship Management
- Upstart Indian Shipper Helps Get Russian Oil to Market
Russia has successfully managed to keep the country’s oil moving to markets of the world, defying the fears that sanctions levied last month would result in a plunge in the country’s exports. Gatik Ship Management, which took control of 25 tankers after the invasion of Ukraine, now shuttles Russian crude along new trade routes.
By Joe Wallace, Costas Paris and Anna Hirtenstein
Jan. 29, 2023
https://www.wsj.com/articles/upstart-indian-shipper-helps-get-russian-oil-to-market-11674985846
- Indian Shipper Gatik Loses US P&I Insurance
Fri, Apr 14, 2023
By: Simon Martelli, London & Emily Meredith, Washington
https://www.energyintel.com/00000187-81c9-dc4f-a7e7-9bfd941d0003
- The unknown Indian company shipping millions of barrels of Russian oil
Gatik became one of the world’s largest vessel owners in little over a year, transporting crude to India for Rosneft
Tom Wilson and Chris Cook in London,
Chloe Cornish in Mumbai and Anastasia Stognei in Riga
MAY 4, 2023
https://www.ft.com/content/6f81585c-321a-41fb-bcdb-579e93381671
- Exclusive: Lloyd’s Register drops ships of top Indian carrier of Russian oil
By Jonathan Saul and Nidhi Verma
May 25, 2023
- Shadow fleet-linked Gatik reshuffles ships as Indian owner is dumped by Lloyd’s Register
A string of new management companies emerge after operator suffers flag and insurance woes.
26 May 2023
By Paul Peachey in London
- Top shipper of Russian oil secures Indian cover as Western certifiers exit
By Nidhi Verma and Jonathan Saul
May 31, 2023
- India’s Gatik finds alternative to Lloyd’s for vessel registration – report.
May 31, 2023
India’s Gatik Ship Management has found an alternative vessel registrar to the maritime classification society Lloyd’s Register
- Lloyd’s Register in turn excludes the Indian tanker owner Gatik Ship Management
June 2, 2023, By: Adeline Descamps
After the ABS classification society, the P&I American Club and the Saint-Kitts-et-Nevis register, the Lloyd’s Register in turn withdraws its services from Gatik Ship Management.
The Indian shipowner has become one of the most active transporters of Russian crude to India by means of a clandestine fleet.
https://euro.dayfr.com/business/324086.html
Compiled by:
Devendra Makkar
568 Ashwood Rd.
Springfield, NJ 07081
davemakkar@yahoo.com
973 760 6006
CC:
Honorable Maxine Waters Honorable Mike Crapo
Ranking Member Ranking Member
Financial Services Committee Committee on Finance (US Senate)
2221 Rayburn House Office Building 219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20515 Washington, D.C. 20510Fax: 202 225 7854 Fax: 202 228 0554
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Contagion risks loom over Adani Transmission and Adani Ports, says Fitch
Ratings agency Fitch has said that two Adani Group subsidiaries are exposed to heightened contagion risks as a result of governance weakness at the conglomerate’s sponsor level. Adani Transmission Limited and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone are prone to risks which could affect financial flexibility, said Fitch. The report further added that this could affect financial flexibility, if not addressed properly.
At 9:47 am, Adani Transmission was quoting at Rs 965 on the BSE, lower by 5 percent. Meanwhile, Adani Ports was trading higher by nearly 2 percent at Rs 609.
The Adani Group is back in fire-fighting mode after media reports called into question the Indian conglomerate’s ability to repay debt, reviving a selloff in its stock.
Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. fell 5.7% to close at 593.40 rupees on Tuesday — lower than the price investor GQG Partners paid to buy a stake earlier this month. It plummeted more than 9% at one point in the session. The sharp selloff in all Adani stocks erased about $6.2 billion from their combined market value, the biggest decline since early February. -
Hindenburg: Adani’s wealth down 60%
Industrialist Gautam Adani’s fortunes have suffered a severe setback on concerns over corporate governance and accounting fraud, leading to Reliance Industries’ Mukesh Ambani replacing the Ahmedabad-based industrialist as the richest Indian. Adani lost Rs 3,000 crore of wealth every week over the last year and his overall networth is down 60% from its peak, as per the M3M Hurun Global Rich List, which pegged Adani’s overall fortune at $53 billion as of mid-March. Ambani also suffered a decline in his fortune but could displace Adani as the richest Indian as his networth declined by 20% to $82 billion.
Earlier, US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research published a report accusing the Adani group of large-scale accounting fraud and stock manipulation, leading to serious concerns and a free fall in Adani Group companies’ share prices. The Gautam Adani-led conglomerate has denied these allegations. -
Adani sells stake in four group companies for Rs 15,446 crore
The embattled Adani Group has sold minority stakes in four of its listed companies to US-based GQG Partners for Rs 15,446 crore as the apple-to-airport conglomerate, recovering from a sell-off triggered by a short-seller report, looks to shore up liquidity ahead of the $2 billion debt repayment due in the coming months.
It sold shares in flagship incubating firm Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), port company Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), electricity transmitting firm Adani Transmission Ltd (AEL) and renewable energy firm Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL). “GQG is investing in Adani portfolio companies which own and operate the largest airport and port platform in India, largest private sector transmission and distribution platform in India and that will generate about 9% of India’s renewable energy capacity by 2030,” it said on Thursday. The deal happened through secondary market block deals. “The investment has made GQG a key investor in the development and growth of critical Indian infrastructure,” it added.
The share sale is part of the Gautam Adani-led Group’s comeback strategy after a damning report from an American short seller wiped out more than $140 billion off the conglomerate’s market value.
Source: PTI
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Adani issue puts Opposition unity to test
The Opposition cannot function as a cohesive entity sporadically, especially a year before the next Lok Sabha polls, if it is to take on the BJP/NDA. Bringing the parties together into a front seems impossible now because it entails swaps and trade-offs, which the Congress is not willing to transact with the regional forces.
“Apart from assailing Modi for his alleged nepotism, the Opposition picked on the money invested by the Life Insurance Corporation of India and the State Bank of India — two traditional sources of financial security for the middle class — in the Adani group as examples of ‘cronyism’ at the cost of jeopardizing the interests of the vulnerable salaried sections. The stress on the middle classes was significant, considering that they formed a strong support base of the BJP. Indeed, the Union Budget was billed as a bonanza for the middle-income groups. It has to be seen if the Congress and the Opposition sustain the momentum they generated in Parliament in the interregnum before the next leg of the Budget session.”
By Radhika Ramaseshan Bofors was the last major financial shell game with profound implications for the country’s security to shake up and eventually unseat a powerful ruling party, the Congress, and its leader Rajiv Gandhi. The over three years between the signing of the Rs 1,437-crore deal on March 24, 1986, with AB Bofors, a Swedish arms manufacturer, for the supply of 400 155-mm Howitzer guns for the Army and the Congress’s downfall in November 1989 were bestrewn with dramatic developments which foreshadowed the denouement.
On April 16, 1987, a Swedish radio channel alleged that kickbacks were paid to sweeten the deal. That was enough of a spur to an Opposition — that had been squeezed into one corner of the Lok Sabha after the Congress earned a record mandate in the 1984 elections — to go for the jugular with whatever resources it had. The Opposition persistently clamored for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to investigate the charges.
Then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was unyielding to begin with and on April 20, 1987, he informed Parliament that no bribes were paid and no middlemen were involved. On August 6, 1987, the government relented and set up a JPC under former Union minister B Shankaranand. In February 1988, Indian investigators landed in Sweden to probe the issue. On July 18, 1989, the JPC submitted its findings. Soon thereafter, the CAG drilled the final nail in the Bofors coffin, questioning the process of selection and purchase of the gun. The last straw for Rajiv Gandhi came when Opposition MPs, including those from the BJP and the Left, resigned en masse, prompting Socialist leader Madhu Dandavate to indulge in hyperbole. “Now we need Comrade Vajpayee and Pandit Namboodiripad to work together to oust Rajiv,” Dandavate remarked.
It is useful to chronicle the Bofors saga from a political perspective because the events proved that even a thundering popular mandate could wound a party irreparably and claim its leader. Maybe 1989 was a black swan event, like that of Indira Gandhi’s ouster in 1977.
The Congress and Rahul Gandhi tried hard to implicate the Narendra Modi government in the purchase of 36 Rafale multi-role fighter aircraft from French manufacturer Dassault Aviation before the 2019 elections, but the charge of receiving huge bribes came unstuck. The Congress stood isolated in its campaign against Modi because there were no takers in the Opposition.
There are harbingers that the Gautam Adani-Hindenburg issue — which principally concerns the alleged and overt patronage extended by the Modi government to Ahmedabad-based industrialist Adani whose spectacular rise and entry into the global club of who’s who provoked the West’s attention, interest and investigation — could regroup the Opposition in Parliament.
Two factors have apparently catalyzed the situation. One, even regional parties that were considered ‘pro-Centre’ and ‘pro-Modi’, notably the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), find themselves pitted on their turfs against a rejuvenated BJP. In Telangana, for example, the BRS has Modi as its principal adversary and not a regional BJP leader or the Congress even in the Assembly election this year. Likewise, Mamata Banerjee, no friend of the BJP, is pitted against Modi in West Bengal. As much as Rahul and the Congress, provincial leaders, too, have looked for an opportune moment to corner Modi and they believe that the Adani case has given them the context to launch a campaign against the PM.
Two, Rahul Gandhi, in a vastly amended — and some say refurbished — version of his old self after his Bharat Jodo Yatra, played his cards in Parliament tactfully. He ensured that Congress president and Rajya Sabha Opposition leader M Mallikarjun Kharge mobilized the Opposition parties before and during the now-adjourned Parliament session and stayed in the background so that nobody could call him an ‘entitled legatee’. However, he articulated the Congress’s views on Adani-BJP in his speech in the Lok Sabha and asked searing questions on the businessman’s alleged close relations with Modi that went unanswered. It appeared as though the Opposition, including the BRS and the Aam Aadmi Party, otherwise antagonistic towards the Congress, was happy to pass the baton of the attack on the BJP and Modi to Rahul. There were no suggestions that Rahul was feckless and inattentive towards Parliament. Of course, the question of allowing the Congress and him to helm an Opposition front closer to 2024 is another matter and one riddled with complications.
Apart from assailing Modi for his alleged nepotism, the Opposition picked on the money invested by the Life Insurance Corporation of India and the State Bank of India — two traditional sources of financial security for the middle class — in the Adani group as examples of ‘cronyism’ at the cost of jeopardizing the interests of the vulnerable salaried sections. The stress on the middle classes was significant, considering that they formed a strong support base of the BJP. Indeed, the Union Budget was billed as a bonanza for the middle-income groups. It has to be seen if the Congress and the Opposition sustain the momentum they generated in Parliament in the interregnum before the next leg of the Budget session.
The Opposition cannot function as a cohesive entity sporadically, especially a year before the next Lok Sabha polls, if it is to take on the BJP/NDA. The endeavor of bringing the parties together into a front seems impossible right now because it entails swaps and trade-offs, which the Congress is not willing to transact with the regional forces.
The outcome of the elections that follow this year will demonstrate if the political messaging from the Adani controversy has percolated down to people the country over or if Modi and the BJP have retained popular goodwill and support.
(The author is a senior journalist)
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Adani to prepay $500 million loan as banks balk at refinancing
New Delhi (TIP)- The Adani Group plans to prepay a $500 million bridge loan due next month after some banks balked at refinancing the debt following a short seller attack that sent the group’s assets tumbling.
Barclays Plc, Standard Chartered Plc and Deutsche Bank AG are among banks that lent Adani $4.5 billion to finance the purchase of Holcim Ltd. cement assets last year. A portion of that loan is due March 9.
The lenders were in talks to refinance the loan up to a week before the critical report from Hindenburg Research was published, according to people familiar with the matter. Those talks stalled after the report alleging fraud led to a massive selloff, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter.
An Adani spokesperson said the conglomerate had been in talks with the banks to refinance part of the loan but the group plans to prepay it. The spokesperson said discussions with the banks have not stalled. Representatives for Barclays and Deutsche Bank declined to comment. A representative for Standard Chartered wasn’t immediately available. This marks the second time in a week that the group has taken steps to prepay debt as it fights to regain investor confidence and stem the stock rout. Billionaire Gautam Adani and his family have prepaid $1.11 billion worth of borrowings backed by shares, the group said.
Adani faced a margin call of more than $500 million on that loan, prompting the Indian tycoon to repay the whole debt, Financial Times reported Wednesday. The Adani Group said it didn’t receive a formal request for a margin call and that the loan was repaid early “per our prepayment planning,” the paper reported.
Global banks are ramping up their scrutiny of the group following the Hindenburg report. Citigroup Inc.’s wealth arm has stopped accepting Adani securities as collateral for margin loans, following a similar move by Credit Suisse Group AG. The corporate empire of Adani, once the world’s second-richest person, has been thrown into a tailspin after the Hindenburg report on alleged malpractices. Ten Adani group companies including Adani Total Gas Ltd., Adani Enterprises Ltd. and Adani Transmission Ltd. at one point erased $117 billion from their combined market value in the selloff.
MFs had doubts over Adani debt: Report
Shares of the Adani Group have been on a rebound for the past two days but the voting pattern of mutual funds in resolution of its listed companies shows their unease over at least three issues that were red-flagged in the Hindenburg Research report.
Mutual funds are large block investors and recent SEBI directions have made them more active participants in governance. One of these directions in 2021 made it compulsory for the MFs to vote on all corporate resolutions. No longer can MF representatives, especially from state-owned companies, afford to not turn up for Board meetings. The disclosures by the MFs about their voting patterns have shown that many of them had reservations on three issues: related party transactions among Adani companies (there were over 6,000 in 21-22 alone), taking on substantial debt and appointment of Adani family members in key positions. Disclosures by mutual funds show many of them had reservations on related party transactions among Adani firms, taking on substantial debt and appointment of Adani family members in key positions.
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Adani buys Roys’ 27.26% stake in NDTV for Rs 602 cr
New Delhi (TIP)- The Adani Group on Friday, December 30, acquired 27.26% equity stake in NDTV from its founders Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy for Rs 602.3 crore.
“RRPR, an indirect subsidiary of the company and member of the promoter/promoter group of NDTV, has acquired a 27.26% equity stake in NDTV from Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy by way of inter-se transfer. The acquisition was completed on December 30, 2022 on the block,” said an Adani Enterprises’ regulatory filing to the bourses.
“Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited (an indirect subsidiary of the company) holds 8.27% equity stake in NDTV and RRPR (prior to the present acquisition) held 29.18% equity stake in NDTV. Consequent to the present acquisition, RRPR will hold 56.45%,” it added.
The Roys sold their equity at Rs 342.65 per share, which is 17% higher than what was offered to other shareholders in the open offer that closed on December 5. This premium may attract the attention of SEBI as such a difference in payouts is not allowed unless the selling company (RRPR) is part of the group offloading the shares. Roys had given up on December 23 when they announced their decision to sell off 27.26% of their holding while retaining 5% of the shares.
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Adani world’s third richest, first from Asia
Adani Group’s chairman Gautam Adani is now the world’s third-richest person after overtaking France’s Bernard Arnault according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
With a total net worth of $137.4 billion, 60-year-old Adani has surpassed the wealth of Louis Vuitton chairman Arnault and is now just behind business magnate Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in the ranking.
In the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani is at number 11 with a net worth of $91.9 billion. This is the first time an Asian person has broken into the top three of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The index is a daily ranking of the world’s richest people. Details about the calculations are provided in the net worth analysis on each billionaire’s profile page. The figures are updated at the close of every trading day in New York.
The net worth of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are currently at $251 billion and $153 billion, respectively.
Adani is a first-generation entrepreneur and the Adani Group comprises seven publicly listed entities with businesses spanning energy, ports and logistics, mining and resources, gas, defence and aerospace and airports.
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Are Indians proud of their 75 years Journey since Independence in 1947?
By Dave Makkar “The criminalization of politics is directly related to “Gangster Capitalism” that is being practiced in India since its independence in 1947. In India, politicians are selected & financed by the “New India Company” – NIC; voters play a part in the charade of voting for them! It was Congress that gave their blessings to the formation of “New India Company” in 1947 to replace “The East India Company” with prominent shareholders of that time like Birlas, Sighania’s etc. The current prominent Shareholders of “New India Company” are namely: Ambani, Adani, Tata, Aggarwals, Jindals, Ruia’s & Fraud Religious Gurus Ram Dev, Ravi Shankar, Jaggi Vasudev with many other major names. NIC along with the Politicians they select; are the termites that have eaten up the public wealth along with the social and moral fiber of India.”
“The irony is that Modi’s BJP rather its parent organizations RSS, Hindu Maha Sabha & VHP etc.were working for British and never participated in the freedom struggle of India. Here Modi is pretending to honor Mahatma Gandi and the same Modi publicly honors his idol Savarkar whose follower Nathuram Godse killed Mahatma Gandhi!”
Since my student days every year on Independence Day, I used to look back and compare the gradual deterioration in the functioning of democracy, erosion in moral and social fiber of the society with the previous year in India.
1990 was a turning point in my life when Chandra Shekhar with with 61 MP’s (out of 525-member lower house) from the breakaway group of Janta Dal was installed Proxy PM with the outside support of 195 Congress MP’s under Rajiv Gandhi & 25 MP’s of splinter groups by toppling the V P Singh government. The entire operation was financed by Dhirubhai Ambani with bribes to every MP because V P Singh government was pursuing money laundering, tax evasion and other wrong doings against Ambani group. Ambani controlled the Proxy PM Chandra Shekhar’s government to get legislations and ordinances passed in to favor his business activities and drop all investigations against his group. That forced me to say publicly that from now onward the likes of Ambani’s can install any one as Proxy PM in India, when ever they feel like. That also forced me to think beyond India; where I can raise my family and teach my children that truth, honesty, ethics and service to mankind must be the foundations of your life. After exploring Europe, Middle East, South Asia & Canada; finally my search ended in 1996 and I permanently migrated to USA.After Chandra Shekhar, Indians have seen administration after administrations marred in corruption, criminals getting elected to public offices and MLA’s &MPs for sale to the highest bidder; all under the facade of democracy. Since 2014 this deterioration has been so fast that India can no longer be called a democracy and the most pathetic: it is inhibited by the world famous rich, highly educated and intelligent people that do not care about social and moral corruption that has infected every institution of their government while majority of their fellow Indians live subhuman lives in the ocean of poverty and hunger with no basic human rights.
What the Indian’s are celebrating this year and why they are celebrating; only they can explain. Next year, India is going to celebrate 75th anniversary of its Independence on Aug 15, 2022. Modi government started the 75-week of festivities on March 12, 2021 on the 91st anniversary of the historic Dandi Satyagraha/March of March 12, 1930, an act of nonviolent civil disobedienceled by Mahatma Gandhi against British colonial government. The irony is that Modi’s BJP rather its parent organizations RSS, Hindu Maha Sabha & VHP etc. were working for British and never participated in the freedom struggle of India. Here Modi is pretending to honor Mahatma Gandi and the same Modi publicly honors his idol Savarkar whose follower Nathuram Godse killedMahatma Gandhi!
This 75-week long Celebrations has 5 themes “Freedom Struggle, Ideas at 75, Achievements at 75, Actions at 75 and Resolve at 75 that will end on August 15, 2023. Modi who is famous for his Jumla’s aka Election Rhetoric, has no specific plans through these celebrations, to end unemployment, hunger, poverty, corruption, communalism, catechism, crimes against women, plans for better healthcare, better education, support to micro industries and to end boarder disputes with China and Pakistan. These celebrations will be used as Campaign tools for 7 state elections, Vice President, President, Rajya Sabha & Lok Sabha By-Elections in 2022 and 9 state elections in 2023 and off course 2024 General Elections. That tells us Modi is least bothered about the mounting socio economic and border problems. Moreover, these celebrations must be seen in the same context when Modi advanced the Kumbh Mela by one year from usual 12 years to 11 years to manipulate 5 State Elections and UP Panchayat Elections around Kumbh Mela in early 2021. This resulted in humanitarian crisis and almost 5 million covid deaths in India. These deaths are a direct result of Modi’s arrogance, complacency, lack of preparation, fake nationalism, and the criminal neglect of his constitutional duties in handling Covid pandemic in India. I leave it to the readers to assess; what these 75 weeklong celebrations rather US Presidential style lavish political campaign by Modi aka BJP by completely ignoring governance of India and states will bring for common person.
The most disturbing is Modi’s BJP MP’s and his own Cabinet of Ministers have the most criminals in the current Parliament. Out of 303 BJP MP’s, 116 have criminal record including a bomb maker & a terrorism accused and 22 are in Cabinet and out of those 16 ministers have serious criminal cases registered against them. Most pathetic is Home Minister Amit Shah was accused of having orchestrated the extrajudicial killings under CM Modi of Gujarat. Serious criminal cases include terrorism, treason, arson, murder, rape, robbery, burglary, communal disharmony/hate speeches, electoral violations, and kidnapping, among others. Unfortunately, of the 539 winning candidates analyzed by the ADR, as many as 233 MPs or 43% have criminal charges. Nearly 29% of the cases are related to rape, murder, attempt to murder or crime against women. “There is an increase of 109% [in 2019] in the number of MPs with declared serious criminal cases since 2009,” it said. If that is the plight of the India’s Parliament and government run by criminals; one can for sure say the states must be doing worse than this!
The criminalization of politics is directly related to “Gangster Capitalism” that is being practiced in India since its independence in 1947. In India, politicians are selected & financed by the “New India Company” – NIC; voters play a part in the charade of voting for them! It was Congress that gave their blessings to the formation of “New India Company” in 1947 to replace “The East India Company” with prominent shareholders of that time like Birlas, Sighania’s etc. The current prominent Shareholders of “New India Company” are namely: Ambani, Adani, Tata, Aggarwals, Jindals, Ruia’s & Fraud Religious Gurus Ram Dev, Ravi Shankar, Jaggi Vasudev with many other major names. NIC along with the Politicians they select; are the termites that have eaten up the public wealth along with the social and moral fiber of India. They are also responsible for acute poverty, illiteracy, un-employment, communalism, catechism, lack of basic civic & health care services and massive corruption at all levels of governance including judiciary & media in India. The corruption in Media has reached to new level after 2014 that 99% of the Mainstream Media is owned by NIC shareholders and they decide what information is to be released for public consumption and anyone questioning the rulers is an “Anti-National”.
The most dangerous part is that NIC shareholders have no relevant experience or expertise or has ever invented any product or an idea. None of them have any vision for a country of over 1.39 billion people with the majority of them being poor. Their expertise is in how to swindle and scam to get bank funding for their highly cost inflated projects. They buy/lease perpetually, public owned natural wealth like land, oil wells, spectrum, mining rights, airports, railway stations, National Monuments and more at highly undervalued cost & terms that is a fraud on the owners/public. The other expertise they do have is in financing criminal, communal & corrupt politicians with no vision for the country; so that these shareholders can govern India through them. The recent example is coronation of Viceroy Modi first as CM of Gujarat and later as PM of India. Adani and Ambani has prospered the most under Modi; Adani from $70 mil net worth in 1998 is now $62.7 Bil and Ambani who was Congress Party owner turned BJP owner in 2013, his net worth zoomed from $23.6 Bil to $ 84 Bil despite India’s GDP falling from 10% growth to -8% in 2021 amid 45 years high unemployment, poverty and hunger that may lead to humanitarian crisis.
Are Indians proud of this journey of 75 years where hard-core criminals are running their country and enriching themselves and their masters? Are Indians happy and proud of this journey that has corrupted the social and moral fiber of the society?
Does Modi and his Masters; the Shareholders of NIC; have the guts to speak and have honest discussions on the issues raised above with solutions, in public forums?
(The author is a social activist. He can be reached at davemakkar@yahoo.com)
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Adani Green ties up $1.3 billion from a dozen banks
NEW DELHI (TIP): A dozen global banks are to bankroll Adani Green Energy Ltd’s under-construction renewable power projects with a $1.35 billion revolving credit line, the company said on Friday, March 19.
The finance facility would initially fund a 1.69 GW (gigawatt) hybrid portfolio of solar and wind power projects through four SPVs (special purpose vehicles) in Rajasthan.
The company claimed this as the first ‘certified green hybrid’ project loan in India. The liquidity will boost the company’s efforts to raise its capacity to 25 GW from a little over 3 GW at present over the next four years.
But the company still faces the challenge of finding buyers for an 8 GW manufacturing-linked renewable project it won last year with tariffs higher than current market trends. The project is to be set up in four phases of 2 GW each.
The dozen lenders include Standard Chartered Plc, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Barclays.
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India adds 40 billionaires in pandemic year; Adani, Ambani see rise in wealth: Report
Mumbai (TIP): Forty Indians entered the billionaires’ club in the pandemic-stricken 2020 to take the number of those in the coveted list to 177 people, a report said. Mukesh Ambani continued to be the wealthiest Indian with a net worth of USD 83 billion. The head of Reliance Industries witnessed a 24 per cent jump in fortunes and climbed up one spot to be the eighth richest globally, as per the Hurun Global Rich List. Gautam Adani from Gujarat, who has had a spectacular rise in fortunes in the last few years, saw his wealth almost doubling to USD 32 billion in 2020 and climbed 20 places to be the 48th richest person globally and the second wealthiest Indian. His brother Vinod’s wealth grew 128 per cent to USD 9.8 billion. The report compiles individual or family wealth in the year to January 15. It can be noted that the Indian economy is set to contract by over 7 per cent because of the impact of the pandemic, which had forced governments to go for lockdowns that had a debilitating impact on the poor. The report comes at a time when concerns are being raised about a ‘K-shaped’ recovery being underway, where a select few prosper. Hurun India’s Managing Director and Chief Researcher Anas Rahman Junaid said Indian wealth creation is dominated by cyclical or traditional industries compared to tech-driven wealth creation in the US and China.