India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has accused Adani Enterprises of trying to “impede” its investigations into alleged trade-based money laundering by Adani Group firms.

Adani is one of several power producers accused of misinvoicing to enable them to charge consumers higher tariffs.

Legal avenues

Adani is trying to use Indian legal system to disallow evidence provided by Singapore that the DRI claims contains “clinching evidence” that Adani employed over-invoicing techniques on coal it bought for use in its power station.

The DRI alleges that the higher price of coal apparently, but not actually paid by Adani and several other Indian power producers, enabled them to charge customers higher tariffs.

Intelligence gathering

Earlier this year, the DRI wrote to several countries to ask for their assistance in the probe into allegedly widespread trade-based financial criminality at both state-owned and privately owned energy producers in India’s power sector.

The DRI’s intelligence gathering had by March indicated that while Indonesian coal was being shipped directly from Indonesian ports to India, the invoices were routed through one more or more intermediaries in various territories including Singapore, Dubai, Hong Kong and British Virgin Islands (a UK overseas territory) to artificially inflate value.

Categories: Trade Based Financial crimes News