The Congress party asserted on Friday that the closure of Hindenburg Research does not absolve the alleged nexus between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Adani Group, a relationship they have dubbed "Modani."
Hindenburg, the U.S.-based investment research firm known for short-selling, which previously published reports causing significant financial losses for billionaire Gautam Adani and his companies, has shut down, as announced by its founder, Nate Anderson, on Wednesday.
In a statement, Congress highlighted the significance of the January 2023 Hindenburg report, which prompted the Supreme Court of India to establish an Expert Committee to investigate allegations against the Adani Group.
"The Hindenburg report addressed only a fraction of the extensive 'Modani MegaScam,' focusing primarily on securities law violations," the statement noted.
Congress claimed that out of the 100 questions posed to the Prime Minister regarding the Adani scandal, only 21 were related to Hindenburg's revelations.
The party accused the Modi government of leveraging foreign policy to benefit the Adani Group, manipulating investigative agencies, and compromising Indian institutions like SEBI. Congress also criticized the prolonged SEBI investigation, which remains unresolved nearly two years after the Supreme Court's directive.
Also Read: Hindenburg Research, the US-based short seller behind Adani report, to shut down
The statement referenced U.S. allegations against the Adani Group, including bribery for solar power contracts and money laundering suspicions leading to frozen bank accounts by Swiss authorities. Congress further alleged significant over-invoicing of coal imports from Indonesia, resulting in inflated electricity prices in Gujarat and large sums being siphoned through shell companies.
Congress called for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation, emphasizing the need for accountability and criticizing the Indian state institutions for allegedly protecting the powerful while ignoring the plight of the common people.