The discovery that these funds have been closed has signaled a challenge to SEBI. This was pointed out by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a group of investigative journalists. It is alleged that people connected to the Adani family used these funds to hold shares in group firms. This action is a violation of the laws of the country related to the stock market.
Some of these funds are said to have been closed in 2020, soon after the SEBI probe into the Adani issue. Investigating closed firms is challenging. With the closure of these funds, SEBI is facing difficulties in getting beneficiary information of the institutions. Adani Group may not be able to prove manipulation of shares due to such reasons.
It is surprising that such publicly announced funds are fully withdrawn within a relatively short period of time. Ascent Trade and Investment Pvt Ltd is a Mauritius based company incorporated in April 2010. Decommissioned in June 2019. Lingo Trading and Investment Pvt Ltd, incorporated in December 2009, was closed in March 2015 in the Middle East. Trade and Investment Pvt Ltd was incorporated in September 2011 and closed in August last year.
