At least two Mauritius companies which invested in the Adani Group companies and found mention in the Hindenburg Group’s Adani report were on the radar of Indian tax authorities for over a decade. As Sebi got another three months from the Supreme Court earlier this month to complete its probe, records accessed by The Indian Express during the 2017 Paradise Papers investigation show that Mavi Investment Fund Ltd (now APMS Investment Fund Ltd) had received a notice from the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) in September 2012. This notice was to share information, and for onward transmission to the Indian tax authorities under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement. Another company, Lotus Global Investment Limited, which started investing in Adani Group companies in 2005, received a similar notice from MRA in July 2014 to share “information… for onward transmission to the Indian Tax Authorities”. These documents were part of offshore legal firm Appleby’s internal records. In its Adani report, Hindenburg Research named five Mauritius entities — APMS Investment Fund (earlier Mavi Investments), Albula Investment Fund, Cresta Fund, LTS Investment Fund and Lotus Global Investment Fund under the control of an alleged “stock parking entity” Monterosa Investment Holdings (BVI) — that collectively held substantial stakes in Adani group companies over one and a half decade. Four of these companies were among the 13 overseas entities being investigated by market regulator Sebi since October 2020, according to the SC-appointed expert committee. “The foundation of Sebi’s suspicion that led to investigations into the overseas entities’ ownership is that they have ‘opaque’ structures because the ultimate chain of ownership above the 13 overseas entities is not clear,” the committee pointed out. Sebi, however, drew a blank, it said. In August 2010, records show, Appleby billed Monterosa for amending and recording fund documents related to Lotus, Mavi, Cresta, among others, “so that there is only one common portfolio of assets for the SEBI declaration” In May 2010, Sebi had accepted Mavi’s payment of Rs 10 lakh towards the settlement charges for violating SEBI regulations. Mavi (as APMS) holds 1.86 per cent in Adani Transmission and 2.72 per cent in Adani Total Gas. Until 2021, it held 1.19 per cent in Adani Green Energy. Mavi began investing in Adani Enterprise Limited (AEL) in 2006 and exited last year. The company sold its entire Adani Power Limited (APL) stake to Vinod Adani, elder brother of Gautam Adani, in three block deals in 2013. Lotus Global sold its stake in APL in December 2009 to Albula (Mauritius) within the Monterosa umbrella. Its stake in AEL was gradually diluted from a high of 4.51 per cent in 2008 until it exited in the second quarter of 2010. In July 2014, MRA asked Lotus Global to furnish audited financial statements for the years 2006 to 2012 — roughly the period when Lotus Global held stakes in Adani companies — details of shareholders and beneficial owner/s, number of employees, bank statements for the period April 2000 to March 2013, sources of credits and details of debit entries in the bank accounts. In extensive deliberations over the issue, executives and lawyers of Monterosa, Appleby and associated entities, show records, decided to petition the Supreme Court of Mauritius to pre-empt any attempt to extract information directly from the banks — Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Bank of Mauritius — where Lotus Global held accounts. “The Applicant has received subscription monies of several hundred million USD and placed thousands of dedicated portfolio investment trades with a turnover in excess of USD 2 billion over the years… The request for information is drafted extraordinarily wide and vague… part of a mere fishing expedition of the Indian Tax Authorities…,” read a draft affidavit seeking an injunction to restrain MRA from summoning the bank officials. Earlier in 2012, Mavi was asked to provide ownership details, bank statements from April 2007 to March 2010 and confirm if the company invested in Delphi Investment Ltd leading to investments in Etisalat DB Telecom Pvt Ltd (formerly Swan Telecom Private Limited) as part of the 2G scam probe. In response, Mavi named 11 entities in Ireland, Cayman and Bermuda as beneficiaries. This was in line to Mavi’s refusal to name the beneficial owners of the fund to the SEBI in 2013 on the ground that its investors were banks and financial institutions who “have a large number of investors who keep changing on a day-to-day basis.” In September 2013, the SEBI lifted the ban it had imposed on Mavi in September 2011 after failing to establish “decisively” charges of market manipulations.
