The Congress on Wednesday cited findings from the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) to allege that benami funds were used by close associates of the Adani Group to acquire substantial stakes in the conglomerate. The party also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “stonewalled” its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into all aspects of the alleged “scam”.

The Adani Group has repeatedly denied all allegations levelled by the Congress in the past. While there was no immediate response from the conglomerate to the latest claims based on the OCCRP report—an organisation reportedly funded by entities including George Soros and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund—it has previously rejected allegations contained in OCCRP investigations.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said there is a distinction between legitimate business growth and expansion driven by political patronage.

"There is a difference between genuine entrepreneurship which the INC welcomes, supports and celebrates, and business expansion through cozy and mutually lucrative political relationships," Ramesh said.

Referring to the OCCRP findings, he stated:"New revelations have just emerged regarding the use of benami funds to amass large stakes in the Adani Group by close Adani associates Chang Chung-Ling and Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli," Ramesh said on X.

According to Ramesh, the OCCRP report found evidence—including admissions by Chang and Ahli to a Swiss bank—that the two individuals held significantly larger stakes in Adani companies than previously known. He claimed they controlled about USD 3 billion in Adani stock through various hedge funds until as recently as 2023.

Ramesh also criticised the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), alleging delays in its ongoing investigations. He said there has been no visible progress in 22 of the 24 matters under examination, including allegations of insider trading in Adani Group companies, violations of minimum public shareholding norms, the 13 "suspicious transactions" that SEBI informed the Supreme Court on 25 August 2023 it was probing, and the alleged laundering of Rs 20,000 crore through shell companies into the Adani Group.

He further pointed out that an investigation the Supreme Court had directed on March 2, 2023 to be completed within two months has continued for nearly three years without closure.

Recalling Prime Minister Modi’s remarks at the November 2014 G20 Summit in Brisbane, Ramesh said the prime minister had called for global cooperation "to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders", to "track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers," and to "break down the web of complex international regulations and excessive banking secrecy that hide the corrupt and their deeds".

"Yet the sheer hypocrisy of his words has been proven repeatedly by his brazen protection of the Adani Group. The Adani MegaScam, however, extends far beyond the scope of SEBI's investigations," Ramesh claimed.

He said the Congress had raised several questions under its 'Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun (HAHK)' series between January and March 2023. According to him, the alleged “scam” also involves the misuse of investigative agencies.

As the Congress has argued in its 'Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun (HAHK)' series of questions to the prime minister in Jan-March 2023, it also encompasses the misuse of agencies such as the ED, CBI, and the Income Tax Department to pressure firms into divesting assets in critical infrastructure sectors, to the benefit of the prime minister's most favoured business group, he alleged.

Ramesh further said the alleged irregularities extend to privatisation decisions that, according to him, enabled the creation of Adani monopolies in sectors such as airports and ports, and may expand to areas including cement, power and defence equipment.

He also alleged that diplomatic resources were misused to funnel contracts to the Adani Group in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and other countries.

The Congress leader claimed that the matter includes the import of over-invoiced coal and siphoning out of Rs 12,000 crore from India between 2021 and 2023 through trading firms linked to Chang and Ahli, which he said contributed to higher electricity prices in Gujarat from Adani power stations.

He further alleged the existence of a Rs 2,000 crore (USD 250 million) bribery scheme involving Gautam Adani and seven associates to secure high-priced solar power contracts in India, adding that the matter is under investigation by US authorities.

Reiterating the party’s demand for a parliamentary probe, Ramesh said the Congress has consistently sought a JPC investigation into all aspects of what it calls the "Modani Mega Scam".

"The Congress has been consistently demanding a JPC to investigate all these aspects of the 'Modani Mega Scam'," Ramesh said, adding that "naturally the PM has stonewalled".

"Not only that but the Adani Group continues to keep spreading its tentacles into one business after another with the PM's full backing demonstrating that its real core competence is the PM's patronage," he said.