$310 million in six Swiss bank accounts linked to Adani frozen: Hindenburg

Mumbai: US short-seller Hindenburg Research on Thursday launched another attack on Adani Group saying that Swiss authorities have frozen over $310 million in funds in six bank accounts following a probe into allegations of money laundering linked to the Indian business group.

Hindenburg, which previously locked horns with Adani Group, in a post on X Thursday said citing newly released Swiss criminal court records that the probe beginning in 2021 reveals the opaque offshore entities tied to the group.

Soon after the allegations emerged, the Adani Group responded terming the charges ‘preposterous, irrational, and absurd’.

It is reported citing Gotham City that a ruling by the Federal Criminal Court (FCC) revealed that the Geneva Public Prosecutor’s Office had been probing ‘alleged wrongdoing’ by Adani before Hindenburg Research raised the first accusations.

The Swiss-based news portal added that ‘More than $310 million belonging to an alleged front man for billionaire Gautam Adani is sequestered in six Swiss banks. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) took over the investigation after the case was revealed in the press.’

The Adani Group’s spokesperson in a statement ‘unequivocally’ rejected the allegations saying that the group had no involvement in any Swiss court proceedings, adding that the company’s account were not subjected to sequestration by any authority.

The statement further claimed that in the alleged order the Swiss court neither mentioned ‘our companies’ and nor any such authority or regulatory body approached it for any clarification or information.

The group claimed that its overseas holding structure was transparent and ‘fully disclosed’ as well being complaint with all relevant laws.

The Adani Group termed the Hindenburg’s latest revelations ‘yet another orchestrated and egregious attempt’ to inflict damage to the company’s ‘reputation and market value’.