When auditors quit, know things are not as projected: Cong on Adani issue

The Congress on Saturday hoped the SEBI report on Adani would answer the questions raised by Supreme Court's Expert Committee and wondered when will Prime Minister Narendra Modi break his silence on the issue.

In May, the apex court had granted the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) time till August 14 to complete its probe into the allegations of stock price manipulation by the Adani group.

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh cited Deloitte Haskins and Sells announcing their decision to quit as auditors for Adani Ports and SEZ and said, "When statutory auditors repeatedly quit, you know that things are not as they are projected".

"Pradhan Mantri chuppi todiye (Prime Minister break your silence)," he said on X, previously known as Twitter, on the Adani issue.

In a statement, Ramesh alleged, "Shady transactions by the PM's favourite business group are reportedly leading Deloitte Haskins and Sells to take the unusual step of resigning as auditor for Adani Ports and SEZ".

He said the auditor had previously issued a "qualified opinion" on the company's accounts stating that Adani Ports' transactions with three entities cannot be shown to be with unrelated parties.

More importantly, the firm has refused to get an independent external examination that would prove so, the Congress leader claimed.

"This raised several serious questions: Who is the EPC contractor that the firm is protecting and financing? To whom did it really sell its Myanmar container terminal in May 2023?

"Adani Ports seems so keen to obscure these apparent related-party transactions that Deloitte is being forced to resign after completing only one of five years as the firm's statutory auditor," he claimed in the statement.

Deloitte has declined to comment on its decision.

"We await SEBI's report on the Adani MegaScam that is due 14 August 2023. We expect that the pointed questions raised by the Supreme Court's Expert Committee will result in a detailed examination of the Adani Group's murky financials. Like it or not, the truth of Modani's corruption continues to come out," Ramesh also said.

The Congress has been questioning the financial dealings of the Adani group after the US research report cited alleged "irregularities" and charged the group with stock price manipulation, a charge which the Adani group rejected vehemently.

Opposition parties have also been demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani issue and had stalled proceedings in the entire budget session.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra cited Deloitte's decision to caution investors.

"Now we're waiting for ED, CBI, SFIO to raid Deloitte!..." she said on X, formerly known as Twitter.