US-Funded OCCRP Targeting Adani Group: French Daily

The allegations from US short-seller Hindenburg and the report from OCCRP targeting the Adani Group can’t be treated as gospel, the Supreme Court stated

Adani Group has specifically named George Soros as a financier of these attacks, noting that Open Society, a foundation founded by Soros, is one of the backers of OCCRP

Hyderabad: Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Prashant Bhushan, and Mahua Moitra, have extensively quoted OCCRP-funded reports to allege corruption involving Gautam Adani and the BJP government.

On September 4, 2023, just one day before the Supreme Court hearing on the Hindenburg-Adani case, Financial Times, OCCRP, and The Guardian collaborated to publish an article against the Adani Group titled ‘Secret Paper Trail Reveals Hidden Adani Investors.’

Reports are emerging that these articles were funded by the US-backed organization—Organized Crime & Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

“The OCCRP, the largest organized network of investigative media in the world, has hidden the extent of its links with the US government, this investigation can reveal. Washington supplies half of its budget and has the right to veto its senior staff,” said a detailed investigative report by Mediapart, a French newspaper.

In India, OCCRP has tied up with several journalists and a few English newspapers. OCCRP was created by Drew Sullivan in 2008 in Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, initially as a media network focused on investigating organized crime and corruption in the Balkans—a region where Soros has been very active and funded numerous initiatives. Sixteen years later, OCCRP has become, as Drew Sullivan himself describes it, “the largest investigative reporting organization on Earth.” From its earlier focus on oil-rich countries, including Russia and Venezuela, OCCRP has been gradually shifting its attention toward India and its energy producing organizations. The Adani Group, a key player in India’s energy sector through its investments in green energy, has been at the center of this focus. The group has faced several attacks over the last two years from journalists affiliated with OCCRP and working in various media houses, including The Financial Times and The Guardian.

In India, OCCRP collaborated with Indian Express on one of its projects—the Panama Papers. Journalists affiliated with this massive organization, serving the interests of the US, include Ravi Nair and Anand Mangale.