Deliberate attempt to draw Gautam Adani's name in Panama Papers: Adani Group

NEW DELHI: The Adani Group today said media reports linking its Chairman Gautam Adani to offshore entities in 'Panama Papers' is a "deliberate" attempt to draw his name to mislead readers and "mischievously sensationalising the matter".

Reacting to the report, the group issued a statement saying Vinod Adani, elder brother of Gautam, whose name was also mentioned, has been a non-resident Indian (NRI) for about 30 years and has own established businesses outside India.

"It is strange that Gautam Adani's name is mentioned in the headline though he is not the account holder and the story actually pertains to Indians having not legitimate bank accounts abroad. This is a deliberate attempt to draw Mr. Gautam Adani's name, not just to mislead the readers at large but mischievously sensationalising the matter," the statement said.

It added that the reported account holder Vinod Adani who is the elder brother of Gautam Adani has been an NRI for about 30 years and has his own established business interests outside India.

"Adani Group and the Indian resident family members of Adani family always conduct transactions within the framework of extant regulatory guidelines and provisions," it said.

The statement further said that the group welcomes the government initiatives to reach to the bottom of this matter pertaining to the black money trail including Panama leaks and assure its fullest cooperation in any kind of investigation for that matter.

The government has already formed a multi-agency group to monitor exposes in this regard and vowed to take action against all "unlawful" accounts held abroad.