Adani Group denounces fresh attempts by Financial Times to malign its image

'Financial Times' shows scant respect for India’s regulatory and judicial processes and authorities. It also deliberately ignores the fact that coal procurement in India on long-term supply basis is done through an open, transparent, global bidding process, thereby eliminating any possibility of price manipulation: Adani Group

The Adani Group has said that there is a renewed attempt by the 'Financial Times' and its collaborators to rehash old and baseless allegations to tarnish the group’s name and standing. This is part of their extended campaign to advance vested interests under the guise of public interest.

Continuing their relentless campaign, the next attack is being fronted by Dan McCrum of the Financial Times (FT), who together with OCCRP, put out a false narrative against the group on August 31, it said in a statement.

The OCCRP is funded by George Soros, who has openly declared his hostility against them, the statement said.

Having failed earlier, FT is making another effort to financially destabilise the group by raking up an old, baseless allegation of over-invoicing of coal imports. The FT’s proposed story is based on the DRI’s General Alert Circular No.11/2016/CI dated March 30, 2016.

FT’s brazen agenda is exposed by the fact that they have singled out Adani Group, while the DRI’s circular, the raison d'etre for the whole story, mentions 40 importers, including the Adani Group companies, it said.

This list not only includes some of India’s major private power generators like Reliance Infra, JSWSteels and Essar but also state power generating companies of Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana and Tamil Nadu, among others and the NTPC and MSTC, the statement said. It is noteworthy that in the case of Knowledge Infrastructure, one of the 40 importers mentioned in the General Alert Circular, the DRI’s show-cause notice alleging over-valuation in the import of coal was quashed by the appellate tribunal (CESTAT).