Swiss authorities freeze USD 311 mn of alleged Adani proxy, Adani Group denies any link
New Delhi (PTI): Swiss authorities have frozen USD 311 million (Rs 2,610 crore) held by a Taiwanese resident in multiple Swiss bank accounts as part of money laundering probe, suspecting he may be a frontman from the Adani group -- a charge the conglomerate vehemently denied saying it was neither involved in any Swiss court proceedings nor any of its accounts are subject to sequestration.
US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research, which had last year targeted the Adani group in a damning report that led to wiping away of USD 150 billion in market value of listed firms of the conglomerate in the following weeks, in a post on X cited "newly released Swiss criminal records reported by Swiss media outlet" to state that "Swiss authorities have frozen more than $310 million in funds across multiple Swiss bank accounts as part of a money laundering and securities forgery investigation into Adani, dating back as early as 2021."
"Prosecutors detailed how an Adani frontman invested in opaque BVI/Mauritius & Bermuda funds that almost exclusively owned Adani stocks," it said citing the report.
Adani group rejected the allegations as baseless saying it had no involvement in any Swiss court proceedings.
"We unequivocally reject and deny the baseless allegations presented. The Adani Group has no involvement in any Swiss court proceedings, nor have any of our company accounts been subject to sequestration by any authority," it said.
The Swiss media outlet Gotham City in its report stated that a ruling by the Federal Criminal Court (FCC) reveals that the Geneva Public Prosecutor's Office was investigating alleged wrongdoing and more than USD 310 million belonging to an alleged front man for billionaire Gautam Adani have been sequestered in five Swiss banks over the last three years.
The Swiss investigators suspect that the associate, Chang Chung-Ling, is not the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) of the company under investigation, but a mere front.
The Adani Group, however, said that the court order was not linked to them and they have not been mentioned in it.
"Even in the alleged order, the Swiss court has neither mentioned our group companies, nor have we received any requests for clarification or information from any such authority or regulatory body. We reiterate that our overseas holding structure is transparent, fully disclosed, and compliant with all relevant laws," the conglomerate said.
The allegations, it said, "are clearly preposterous, irrational, and absurd. We have no hesitation in stating that this is yet another orchestrated and egregious attempt by the same cohorts acting in unison to inflict irreversible damage on our group's reputation and market value."
"The Adani Group remains steadfastly committed to transparency and compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements," it said.
The name of Chang Chung-Ling had first surfaced in the 2023 Hindenburg report that alleged stock market manipulation, accounting fraud and money laundering at Adani Group. Adani Group has repeatedly denied all charges.
He was alleged to have made substantial profits by buying and selling Adani stocks through offshore funds and that he was the sole director of Growmore, allegedly a shell company based in Mauritius used to siphon off funds.
According to Hindenburg, Growmore netted an overnight USD 423 million gain through a stock merger with Adani Power.
Chung-Ling's son, Chang Chien-Ting was identified as the alleged sole beneficial owner of PMC Projects (India), which along with Growmore and Adani Global were firms that were investigated by SEBI over related-party transactions. The outcome of the SEBI probe is not known.
According to the Swiss media report, a court order of August 9, 2024, which was published on September 10, 2024, stated that the Adani Group is "suspected of engaging in illicit activities, including money laundering and embezzlement".
An entity controlled by Chang Chung-Ling invested substantial amounts of money entrusted to him by the Adani Group in "opaque funds".
Hindenburg claimed that criminal court records show in detail how an Adani frontman invested in opaque BVI/Mauritius and Bermuda funds that almost exclusively owned Adani stock.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
