Customs records reviewed by the Financial Times suggest Adani Group imported billions of dollars of coal at prices well above market value over a two-year period.
According to the newspaper, the data substantiates allegations that India’s largest private coal importer has been artificially inflating fuel costs, resulting in millions of Indian consumers and businesses overpaying for electricity.
The records reveal that over two years, Adani utilized offshore intermediaries in Taiwan, Dubai, and Singapore to import $5 billion worth of coal, with prices at times exceeding double the market rate.
One of the companies’ owners is a Taiwanese businessman recently identified by the Financial Times report as a concealed shareholder in Adani companies.
The FT also scrutinized 30 shipments of coal from Indonesia to India by an Adani company over 32 months between 2019-2021. In all instances, import record prices significantly surpassed those in corresponding export declarations. Throughout the journeys, the combined shipments’ value increased by over $70 million.
Adani Group denied any wrongdoing and said the Financial Times story is based on an “old, baseless allegation”, and is “a clever recycling and selective misrepresentation of publicly available facts and information”.