Congress’ Jairam Ramesh writes to RBI, SEBI chiefs seeking probe into allegations against Adani Group

In his letter, Ramesh urged the central bank to look into two aspects of the issue: “One, what is the true Adani exposure of the Indian banking system? Two, what are the explicit and implicit guarantees that the Adani Group has been given that it will be bailed out by Indian banks if foreign funding dries up?”

Ramesh wrote that the RBI “must ensure that risks to financial stability are investigated and contained”.

In his letter to the SEBI chief, meanwhile, Ramesh called for an investigation that is “fair and complete, with no favour”.

“Any failure to do so will cast a shadow on Indian corporate governance and on India’s financial regulators, and could affect our ability to raise funds globally,” the letter read.

Here are my letters to the RBI Gov & Chaiperson of SEBI expressing the hope that a full-fledged independent investigation will be carried on the numerous allegations against the PM- blessed Adani Group. pic.twitter.com/U7L8QLRb5f

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) February 15, 2023

Ramesh also questioned why Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and the State Bank of India (SBI) have heavily bought Adani Group equity.

“LIC, which 30 crore Indians trust with their life savings, has lost thousands of crores in Adani Group stock in recent days. Should we not ensure that such public sector financial institutions are more conservative in their investments than their private sector counterparts and free from pressure from above?” he wrote.

After the Hindenburg report alleged stock manipulation and fraud by the conglomerate, share prices of companies in the Adani Group have dropped significantly. The Adani Group has denied all allegations, and accusing Hindenburg of being “an unethical short seller”, and saying its report is a “lie”.

During the budget session of Parliament which ended earlier this week, Opposition lawmakers led by the Congress repeatedly disrupted proceedings in both Houses to demand a probe on the Adani Group crisis either by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) or a Supreme Court-monitored probe.