Vinod Adani, the problematic tycoon’s older brother, is now officially recognised by the Gautam Adani group as a member of the promoter group of “several listed firms” that are a part of the Ahmedabad-based conglomerate. Vinod Adani is said to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship, was forced to acknowledge it after vehemently denying any questionable business activities or connections with the 74-year-old older sister who is living in the UAE.
The Gautam Adani group said in a response after the bombshell Hindenburg Research report’s release on January 24 that Vinod Adani “does not hold any management position in any Adani-listed firms or their subsidiaries and has no participation in their day-to-day operations. We are unable to comment on Mr. Vinod Adani’s business operations or transactions at this time.
It stated that it had always kept the older brother at a “arm’s length”.
According to the Companies Act of 2013, “a transaction between two related parties that is handled as if they were unrelated, so that there is no conflict of interest,” is defined as being performed at arm’s length.
As it was learned over the previous several days that Vinod Adani really owned cement giants Ambuja Cement and ACC, that stance was rapidly rendered unsustainable. The two businesses were purchased from the Holcim group last year in a $6.5 billion transaction. Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship company, stated in a stock market filing on Thursday that Vinod Adani is an immediate relative of the person promoters and that Gautam Adani and Rajesh Adani are individual promoters of several listed firms within the Adani group.
Vinod Adani is a member of the “promoter group” of different listed firms within the Adani group, in accordance with the relevant Indian legislation. The Gautam Adani gang has never publicly acknowledged that, in accordance with current laws, familial ties were sufficient to entice anybody into the promoter cabal.
After Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claimed in a recent tirade against the Modi government that several senior executives of Adani Enterprises had been appointed to key positions at the two cement makers after the acquisition, the Gautam Adani group’s claim of an arm’s length relationship with older brother Vinod had looked decidedly shaky.
Climb-down
The Adani group’s abrupt about-face on Thursday was in contrast to the stance it had taken in a 413-page denial of the claims made by US short-seller Hindenburg Research. According to Hindenburg Research, Vinod Adani transferred money to the Gautam Adani group via a maze of 38 shell companies situated in Mauritius.
The US-based short seller also claimed to have found companies Vinod Adani “surreptitiously controlled” in Singapore, Cyprus, the UAE, and a number of Caribbean islands. According to several reports, the older brother works out of Dubai. According to regulatory documents, he is a citizen of Cyprus. The Adani group had responded in its rebuttal, saying, “We reiterate that any transactions by the Adani portfolio companies with any related party have been duly identified and disclosed as related party transactions in compliance with Indian laws and standard and have been carried out on arm’s length terms.
Endeavour Trade and Investment, located in Mauritius, closed the transaction when the Adani group acquired Holcim AG’s share in Ambuja Cements and ACC. According to the most recent filing, Vinod Adani’s membership in the promoter group has been periodically disclosed to Indian regulatory authorities. It said, “Moreover, it has been mentioned in the public offer document that Endeavour Trade and Investment Ltd (a company owned by Vinod Adani), the party acquiring ACC Limited and Ambuja Cements Limited, is a member of the Adani group.