The regulator has requested files and communications related to its audits on some of the companies controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani dating back to 2014, according to the report
The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), the country’s accounting regulator, has opened an investigation into one of Adani Group’s auditors, EY, Bloomberg reported on 25 October.
The investigation was launched in recent weeks against S.R. Batliboi, one of EY’s member businesses in India, according to people familiar with the situation.
The regulator has requested files and communications related to its audits on some of the companies controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani dating back to 2014, according to the report, adding that it was unclear how long the NFRA’s investigation could take or what repercussions, if any, the auditor and Adani’ Group companies might face.
According to the reports, the investigation highlights the persistent issues about accounting and disclosures by the ports-to-power giant, which weathered a savage short seller onslaught in January.
In response to the Bloomberg investigation, an Adani Group spokeswoman stated, “We strongly reject any suggestion that Adani Group and its businesses have not acted in accordance with the regulations and accounting standards of the jurisdictions in which we operate.”
“The Adani Group has always conducted its business in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and is confident about its practises, governance and disclosures,” a spokeswoman said.
Adani Group, which has previously strongly refuted Hindenburg’s charges of corporate wrongdoing, is also the subject of a court-ordered investigation by market regulator SEBI.