The Adani Group on Monday lashed out at a media publication for its “renewed attempt” to tarnish the name and standing of the business conglomerate.

In a statement, the Adani Group said, “There is a renewed attempt by the Financial Times (FT) and its collaborators to rehash old and baseless allegations as part of their extended campaign to advance vested interests under the guise of public interest.”

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It claimed the attack is being fronted by Dan McCrum of the Financial Times who jointly with the OCCRP put out a false narrative against the Adani Group on August 31. The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) is funded by George Soros, who has openly declared his hostility against the Adani Group, it said.

The Group contended that the FT’s proposed story is based on DRI’s general alert circular, dated March 30, 2016, and the publication’s “brazen agenda is exposed by the fact that they have singled out the Adani Group, while the circular, the raison d’être for the whole story, mentions as many as 40 importers, including the Adani Group companies”.

“This list not only includes some of India’s major private power generators like Reliance Infra, JSW Steels and Essar but also the state power generating companies of Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, and the NTPC and MSTC,” the statement stated.

The Gautam Adani-led group further alleged that the publication is making another effort to “financially destabilise” the company by raking up baseless allegations of over-invoicing of coal imports.

Clarifying further on the aforementioned circular, the Adani Group said the DRI’s appeal was dismissed as withdrawn by the Supreme Court on January 24 with the observation that “we appreciate the stand taken by the government in not entering into futile litigation”.

“The FT’s proposed storyline is a clever recycling and selective misrepresentation of publicly available facts and information with a deliberate and mischievous suppression of judicial decisions to arrive at a predetermined conclusion. It shows scant respect for India’s regulatory and judicial processes and authorities,” the statement read.

It is unfortunate that some foreign entities like the OCCRP, supported by a section of foreign media, short-sellers and domestic collaborators, have launched a series of attacks against the Adani Group with the primary intent of dragging down its market value, it added.