Congress Raises Report On Adani Group’s Auditor Facing NFRA Scrutiny, Group Says All Compliance Met With…..

New Delhi [India] : Citing a report by US-based news agency Bloomberg which stated that one of the Adani Group’s longtime auditors is being scrutinized by National Financial Reporting Authority, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday said that something is truly rotten in this “most Modi favoured conglomerate”.

Taking to the social media platform, X, the Congress Rajya Sabha MP posted the news report by Bloomberg and also noted a series of events unfolded in recent months since May this year.

“1. In May 2023, a little-known statutory auditor of Adani Total Gas Ltd resigns. 2. In August 2023, another statutory auditor–this time an internationally known firm–resigns after flagging concerns on financial transactions of Adani Ports. 3. In October 2023, comes news of a third statutory auditor–also a big name in the profession–of five listed Adani Group companies being itself investigated by the National Financial Reporting Authority. Something is truly rotten in this most Modi favoured conglomerate,” Jairam Ramesh posted on X.

Earlier, the Adani Group on Wednesday countered the news report saying that it has always conducted its business in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. The Group also rejected any suggestion that its businesses have not acted as per the accounting standards of the jurisdictions in which they operate.

A spokesperson for the Adani Group said in a media statement in reference to the Bloomberg report on the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) that the Group is confident about its practices, governance and disclosures.

“We strongly reject any suggestion that Adani Group and its businesses have not acted as per the regulations and accounting standards of the jurisdictions in which we operate,” the statement said.

“The Adani Group has always conducted its business in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and is confident about its practices, governance and disclosures,” it added.

The Bloomberg news report, citing people familiar with the matter, said that one of the Adani Group’s longtime auditors is being scrutinized by India’s accounting regulator.

Citing the people, it said the regulator has requested files and communications related to its audits on some of the companies going as far back as 2014.

The report said it’s unclear how long NFRA’s inquiry may take or what repercussions, if any, may be faced by the auditor and Adani’s companies.

The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) is India’s accounting regulator and was constituted in October, 2018, by the Government of India under the Companies Act, 2013.