Adani discloses US probe after report on Iranian cargo

MUMBAI: India’s Adani Enterprises said Tuesday it was cooperating with a US probe into potential sanctions violations, after a media report alleged that the company had imported Iranian oil products.

The Wall Street Journal reported in June that US prosecutors were examining whether Adani Group entities had imported Iranian?origin liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) through Mundra port and were looking into several tankers used to ship the fuel.

Adani said in a stock-exchange filing on Tuesday it had received a “request for information” last week from the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a Treasury body involved in sanctions enforcement.

The company — part of the Adani Group, a sprawling ports-to-power conglomerate run by billionaire founder Gautam Adani — said the request was made only after it had engaged with OFAC voluntarily following last year’s report.

It added that “out of abundant caution and as part of its co-operation efforts, the company ceased all LPG imports” on June 2, the day the Wall Street Journal report was published.

According to the filing, OFAC has informed the company it was carrying out a civil probe into transactions routed through US financial institutions that may have “involved, directly or indirectly, Iran or interests of persons subject to US sanctions against Iran”.

Adani did not disclose details of what the agency had asked for, but said its communication with OFAC “does not contain any findings of aberrations/non-compliances”.

The company said it was “fully cooperating with OFAC and will supply the requested information”.

The Adani Group had earlier denied “any deliberate engagement in sanctions evasion or trade involving Iranian-origin LPG”.

The shipment that the media report referred to “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”, it said.