Adani faces US scrutiny over Iran LPG 'links', denies role, says unaware of probe
In response, an Adani Enterprises spokesperson said, "Adani categorically denies any deliberate engagement in sanctions evasion or trade involving Iranian-origin LPG. Further, we are not aware of any investigation by US authorities on this subject."Last month, US President Donald Trump said all purchases of Iranian oil or petrochemical products should stop and threatened to impose secondary sanctions on countries buying oil from the Islamic Republic.The development came after US authorities prosecuted the 62-year-old industrialist and his nephew, Sagar Adani, in November last year, alleging that they paid bribes to secure power supply contracts, and misled American investors during fundraising in the US.advertisementAdani Group had called the allegations "baseless" and vowed to seek "all possible legal recourse".ADANI ENTERPRISES DENIES INVOLVEMENTIn a statement, a spokesperson for Adani Enterprises said The Wall Street Journal's report appeared to be based entirely on incorrect assumptions and speculation."Any suggestion that Adani Group entities are knowingly in contravention of US sanctions on Iran is strongly denied. Any assertion to the contrary would not only be slanderous but also deemed to be an intentional act to injure the reputation and interests of the Adani Group," the spokesperson said.The statement also said that the Adani Group does not handle any cargo from Iran at any of its ports. "This includes any shipments originating from Iran or any vessels operating under the Iranian flag," it read."Additionally, the Adani Group does not manage or facilitate any ships whose owners are Iranian. This policy is strictly adhered to across all our ports,' it said.The spokesperson said that the shipment referred to in The Wall Street Journal's report was handled through a routine commercial transaction via third-party logistics partners and was supported by documentation identifying Sohar, Oman, as the port of origin."We again state that we do not own, operate or track vessels (including the alleged SMS Bros/Neel) and cannot comment on the current or past activity of vessels we have not contracted and do not control. Whatever the duties and responsibilities of a bona fide importer are, we have fulfilled those," the statement said.advertisementThe spokesperson said even while LPG constitutes a very small and operationally non-material component of the company's overall revenue, all LPG trade conducted by Adani entities was fully compliant with applicable domestic and international laws, including US sanctions regulations."As an importer of LPG, the appropriate due diligence and KYC of the suppliers is undertaken to ensure that the entities/persons are not on the OFAC sanctions list. The logistics of LPG trade are managed by well-established third-party international suppliers and logistics firms, which manage shipping in accordance with global compliance standards, it said."In that regard, Adani purchases LPG on contracts from reputed international suppliers. The supplies are under valid contracts with the supplier having specific clauses that the product should be from non-sanctioned countries," the statement further said.(with inputs from Reuters)Must Watch
IN THIS STORY#Gautam Adani#Adani Group
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