Opposition MP asks PM Modi to order fair probe into Adani Group allegations

India's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday (31) termed the allegations of financial fraud against the Adani Group as the "biggest scam" and urged prime minister Narendra Modi to order "a fair probe" into the matter.

In a letter to the prime minister, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh also demanded that the passport of Adani Group's founder and chairman Gautam Adani along with that of "all the important people concerned" be also confiscated so that they do not leave the country till the completion of the probe.

The AAP's demands came after a US-based firm, Hindenburg Research, last week released a report alleging that the Adani Group had "engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades".

The Adani Group's listed companies have lost over $70 billion (£57 billion) since the January 24 report that flagged high debt levels at the ports-to-energy conglomerate and the alleged use of offshore entities in tax havens. The group has denied all charges and threatened to sue the US firm.

"This is the biggest scam committed by Narendra Modi's closest friend. Lakhs of crores of money of the investors have gone down the drain due to this. Allegations levelled against the Adani Group are very serious and cause of worry for crores of people of this country," Singh, who is also AAP's national spokesperson, told a press conference.

The AAP demands that "a fair and honest probe" be ordered into the matter so that truth comes out before the nation, he said. "We also demand a JPC (joint parliamentary committee) probe into the matter. We will raise this issue during the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament," he added.

Singh wrote to the prime minister on Monday (30), urging him to order a probe into the matter. In his five-page letter to the prime minister, Singh listed the allegations levelled by Hindenburg Research against the Adani Group and said the US firm's report brings forth "several serious examples and proofs of how the Adani Group and its affiliates are cheating the government, regulators and investors."

With the US firm's report, it has become "a very serious matter" and calls for immediate action, the AAP leader noted. "It is our demand that after registration of a case in this matter as soon as possible, an honest and a fair investigation into each and every aspect be started," Singh said in his letter to the prime minister.

The passports of all the important people concerned, including Adani Group's founder and chairman Gautam Adani, should also be confiscated "so that all these people cannot leave the country until the investigation is complete and the truth comes out," the AAP leader added.

(PTI)