India's Adani says ministry probing accounts of its two Mumbai airports

BENGALURU, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS), backed by billionaire Gautam Adani, said on Friday that Indias corporate affairs ministry was investigating the accounts of the groups two airports in the countrys financial capital of Mumbai.

Adani said the ministry had sought information and documents on the airports – Mumbai International Airport Ltd and Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd – for financial years 2017-18 and 2021-22.

Adani already owns and operates seven airports, including Mumbais Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, which it took over in 2021.

It won six airports as part of the governments first privatisation drive in 2019 and is building a new airport in Navi Mumbai on the outskirts of the financial capital.

The investigation is the latest in a string of troubles for the conglomerate since a U.S. short-seller earlier this year accused it of improperly using offshore tax havens and stock manipulation.

A probe by Indias markets regulator into those allegations has \“drawn a blank\”, a court-appointed panel said in May.

However, Reuters reported last week that the financial regulator would tell the countrys top court why it paused, then restarted investigations into the group after a tip in 2014 amid questions around regulatory delays.

Meanwhile, Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing customs records, that Adani Group imported billions of dollars worth of coal at prices that were sometimes more than double the market price.

Another report by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) said Adani family partners used offshore funds to invest in the Indian groups stocks.

Among other probes, Indias Ministry of Corporate Affairs initiated an investigation into the Adani Groups financial statements in February.