Adani auditor EY faces inquiry by Indian regulator - Bloomberg News (updated)

360 One Wam

25/10/2023 12:19

(Adds background, details from paragraph 4)
       Oct 25 (Reuters) - An EY member firm which audits some
Adani Group companies is being scrutinized by India's accounting
regulator, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people
familiar with the matter.
    The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) in recent
weeks started an inquiry into one of the member firms of EY in
India, S.R. Batliboi, and requested files and communications
related to its audits on some of the companies controlled by
Adani going as far back as 2014, the report said. 
    EY India, S.R. Batliboi, the NFRA and the Adani Group did
not respond to Reuters' requests for comment on the report.
    It was not clear how long the NFRA's inquiry could take or
what repercussions, if any, could be faced by the auditor or the
audited, Bloomberg said. While the auditor and the Adani Group
did not respond to Bloomberg News' request for comment, a
representative for EY and S.R. Batliboi declined to comment, the
report said. 
    S.R. Batliboi currently audits five of Adani's listed firms
- Adani Power  ADAN.NS , Adani Green Energy  ADNA.NS , Adani
Wilmar  ADAW.NS , and recently acquired cement companies ACC
 ACC.NS  and Ambuja Cements  ABUJ.NS .
    The Bloomberg report comes months after the billionaire
Gautam Adani-controlled conglomerate was thrown into turmoil by
a short-seller report accusing the group of improper use of tax
havens and other business dealings - allegations Adani has
denied.
    In August, Deloitte resigned as auditor of Adani Ports
 APSE.NS , the first such move after Hindenburg's report in
January, amid concerns over certain related party transactions
that Hindenburg had raised and which the company did not wish to
look into independently.
    The conglomerate's seven main listed firms lost about $150
billion of its market capitalisation after the Hindenburg report
and have only recovered a part of those losses after paying down
some debt.   

 (Reporting by Akanksha Khushi and Chris Thomas in Bengaluru;
Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
 ((Akanksha.Khushi@thomsonreuters.com;))