TMC’s Mahua Moitra Warns Investors Amid Deloitte’s Resignation from Adani Ports Audit

New Delhi, August 12, 2023: Mahua Moitra, a prominent member of the Trinamool Congress, has issued a cautionary message to investors in light of reports suggesting that Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, the auditor for billionaire Gautam Adani’s ports business, is planning to resign.

Sharing a Bloomberg news report on X (formerly Twitter), Moitra quipped, “Now we’re waiting for ED, CBI, SFIO to raid Deloitte! How can they refuse to audit Govt’s most pyaara group. On a more serious note – investor’s beware.”

According to sources cited by Bloomberg, Deloitte has informed Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. about its intention to resign as auditor. The formal announcement of this decision is anticipated in the upcoming days. This development could intensify concerns about the financial practices of the Indian conglomerate, which has come under scrutiny from short seller Hindenburg Research.

Earlier in May, Deloitte’s Indian arm expressed reservations regarding transactions between Adani Ports and three entities claimed to be unrelated parties by Adani. The auditor was unable to verify these claims and determine if the business was compliant with local laws due to a lack of independent external examination.

The impending resignation of Deloitte puts a fresh spotlight on the governance of Adani’s empire, coinciding with the impending submission of the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s investigation results into Hindenburg’s allegations of accounting fraud and market manipulation. Despite these allegations, Adani has denied any wrongdoing, and a Supreme Court-appointed panel found no regulatory failure or signs of stock price manipulation.

Hindenburg Research’s earlier report had flagged insufficient disclosures of related party transactions, in addition to its allegations of fraud and manipulation against the Adani Group. Deloitte’s statement had indicated that the group did not deem it necessary to undergo an independent external examination, citing their ongoing evaluation and SEBI’s ongoing investigation.

As the financial landscape around the Adani Group continues to evolve, the concerns raised by auditors and investigators continue to reverberate in the business and investment communities.