All Information On Adani Firms Shared With Sebi: Mauritius Minister Bholah

(MENAFN- Live Mint) "Mumbai: The Mauritius financial Services Commission has provided all information, including relevant data on key beneficiaries of the Mauritius incorporated entities related to Adani firms, to the Indian markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) as part of an existing Memorandum of Understanding and the guidelines issued by International Organisation of Securities Commission (IOSCO), said Mauritius Minister for financial services and good governance, Soomilduth Bholah Adani Group has been in the regulatory crosshairs especially after shortseller Hindenburg Research published a report in 2023 alleging money laundering and stock price manipulation. In January, the Supreme Court dismissed the need for an Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into Adani Group, reaffirming that Sebi was the sole authority that would investigate the matter. The watchdog said that it had completed 22 out of 24 investigations related to Adani-with the rest of the investigations pending inputs from foreign regulators. In January, the court directed Sebi to complete all investigations within three months.\"Sebi has the information. Both authorities are talking and exchanging information,\" Bholah said Mauritius officials including Minister Bholah said that the Mauritius regulator has been cooperating and there is an active information-sharing mechanism between both jurisdictions. Bholah is currently leading a Mauritius delegation to India, to meet the Indian business community and regulators. For instance, Dhanesswurnath Thakoor, the chief executive of the Financial Services Commission in Mauritius met with Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch in Mumbai on Friday, officials said Adani affair had led to a reputational fallout for Mauritius among people who don't work in the financial services industry, Vinay Guddye, director- Financial Services and Africa Desk, for the Economic Development Board. Those who work in the financial services industry and use Mauritius to incorporate and raise capital have belief in the Mauritius regulatory bodies, he said.“Mauritius is only one of four jurisdictions in the world that scores 14 out of 14 in all the Financial Action Task Force requirements, which means there's no way that there is illicit funds flowing through the Mauritius jurisdiction,” said Guddye, of the Economic Development Board, stressing on how Mauritius had cooperated with the Sebi probe had also seen an 18% increase in Indian investor incorporation in 2023, which was a sign of trust in the Mauritius commercial structure and jurisdiction, Guddye added said that six years ago, over 45% of the funds incorporated in Mauritius were Indian, but the country has since then diversified significantly. Now, 25% of the funds were from India, with the rest coming from across the world, Bholah said that there was ample scope for deeper collaboration between the Mauritius and Indian business community. He added that the rise of Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, or GIFT city, in India was not a threat for Mauritius but an opportunity to collaborate. Mauritius could also act as a window to Africa for Indian investors, Bholah said.“This is our forte, we have this Indian culture, we have Indian investors who have been collaborating with us and we have a foothold in Africa. This is where we are strong,\" he said.

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