Hindenburg 2.0? George Soros-backed OCCRP said to be planning another 'expose'
New Delhi, (PTI): Months after a US short seller shook markets with a damning report on the Adani group, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) - an organisation funded by likes of George Soros and Rockefeller Brothers Fund - is said to be planning another 'expose' on certain corporate houses in India, sources said. OCCRP, which calls itself "an investigative reporting platform formed by 24 nonprofit investigative centres... spread across Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, may publish a report or a series of articles, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.
An email sent to OCCRP seeking comments remained unanswered. Founded in 2006, OCCRP claims to specialise in reporting on organised crime and largely publishes these news articles through partnerships with media houses.
On its website, it identifies the Open Society Foundations of George Soros, a financier with a penchant for funding radical causes around the world, as one of the institutional donors. Others include Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Oak Foundation.
Sources said the 'expose' may involve overseas funds investing in the stocks of the corporate house.
The identity of the corporate house wasn't immediately known but agencies are said to be keeping a tight vigil on the capital market.
Hindenburg Research in a January 24 report alleged accounting fraud, stock price manipulation and improper use of tax havens, triggering a stock market rout that had erased close to USD 150 billion in the market value at its lowest point.
Adani Group has denied all allegations.
In May this year, a Supreme Court-appointed expert committee to investigate claims in the Hindenburg Report stated that there was evidence of a build-up in short positions on Adani Group stocks ahead of the release of the Hindenburg report. Profits were earned from squaring off positions after prices crashed post-publication of the damning allegations.
Financial crime-fighting agency Enforcement Directorate (ED) "found intelligence about potentially violative and concerted selling by specific parties just ahead of the publication of the Hindenburg report, and this may lead to credible charges of concerted destabilisation of the Indian markets, and Sebi ought to be probing such actions under securities laws," it had said citing a response from ED.
Suspicious trading was observed on the part of six entities. Of these, four are FPIs, one body corporate and one individual, it had said.
Soon after the Hindenburg report, Soros had stated that the turmoil at Gautam Adani's business empire may weaken Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hold on the government - a statement which was strongly countered by BJP as an attack on Indian democracy.
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President Donald Trump to feature on limited edition US passports
Washington (PTI): The State Department is all set to unveil a limited-edition US passport with pictures of President Donald Trump and the Founding Fathers to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence in July.
The special passports will be available only to those who show up in person at the Washington Passport Agency and not anywhere else across the country.
The Department of State shared images of the limited edition passports on its social media accounts.
One page of the passport carries Trump's image surrounded by the text of the Declaration of Independence and the American flag along with the president's signature in gold.
Another page features the famous painting of the founding fathers at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The passports, which are set to be released this summer, are part of the Trump administration’s broader "America250" celebration, which also includes a Grand Prix race on the National Mall in August and a UFC fight on the White House South Lawn in June.
"As the United States celebrates America's 250th anniversary in July, @StateDept is preparing to release a limited number of specially designed US Passports to commemorate this historic occasion,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a post on X.
A State Department official told Fox News Digital that the new designs will be available for "any American citizen" who applies for a passport when the rollout happens and will continue for as long as there is availability.
“These passports will feature customised artwork and enhanced imagery while maintaining the same security features that make the US Passport the most secure documents in the world,” Pigott said in a statement.
In October, the Department of Treasury proposed minting a one dollar coin featuring Trump’s image on it, to mark the 250th anniversary of American Independence.
According to draft images confirmed as real by US Treasurer Brandon Beach, one side of the coin would feature Trump’s profile, along with the words “LIBERTY,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and “1776-2026.”
The other side of the coin would feature Trump standing with a clenched right fist in front of an American flag and the words “FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT” — a reference to his chant after the 2024 assassination attempt at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
