Rs 62,000 cr claims from 10 firms made to settle for just Rs 16,000 cr after Adani took over, alleges Congress

The Congress on Wednesday cited data purportedly revealed by All India Bank Employees Association to allege that public sector banks that had claims of about Rs 62,000 crore from 10 financially-stressed companies were made to settle them for just Rs 16,000 crore after the Adani Group took over these firms. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh shared a screen shot of details purportedly shared by the Association which shows that 10 firms were given ‘haircuts’ ranging from 96 per cent to 42 per cent as they were purchased by the Adani Group.

“The All India Bank Employees Association has revealed, through publicly available data, how public sector banks that had claims of about Rs 62,000 crore from 10 financially stressed companies have been made to settle for just Rs 16,000 crore after the non-biological PM’s favourite business group took over these 10 companies,” Ramesh said.

“In the colourful language of finance, this is a 74 per cent ‘haircut’ taken by the banks,” Ramesh said.

The Congress has been alleging financial regularities against the Adani Group and favours being given by the government to the conglomerate to augment its profits. The opposition party has been persistent on its attack on the government, since Adani Group stocks took a beating on the bourses in the wake of US-based short seller Hindenburg Research making a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation on the conglomerate headed by industrialist Gautam Adani. The Adani Group had dismissed the charges as lies, saying it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.