BORIS JOHONSON’S BROTHER QUITS AS DIRECTOR OF ADANI-LINKED FIRM

Thu 02 February 2023:

Lord Jo Johnson, the younger sibling of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has resigned as a non-executive director of a UK-based investment company associated with the now-withdrawn Adani Enterprises Follow-on Public Offer (FPO).

Jo Johnson, Boris Johnson’s brother, confirmed to Financial Times that he stepped down on February 1. In a statement, as reported by the Financial Times, Jo Johnson said, “I joined the board of Elara Capital, an India-focused investment firm based in London, as an independent non-executive director last June in the hope of making a contribution to UK-India trade and investment ties, which I have long supported and co-written a book about,” Jo Johnson said in a statement after news of his resignation was announced by the newspaper.

“I have consistently received assurances from Elara Capital that it is compliant with its legal obligations and in good standing with regulatory bodies. At the same time, I now recognise that this is a role that requires greater domain expertise in specialised areas of financial regulation than I anticipated and, accordingly, I have resigned from the board,” said Mr Johnson, a House of Lords peer.

According to the newspaper, it is Elara’s asset management business that is under the spotlight after US short-seller Hindenburg Research linked Mauritius-based funds run by the London firm with Adani Group companies.

What is Elara Capital? How is it linked to Adani Group?

Elara Capital was founded in 2002 by Raj Bhatt as a capital markets business, raising funds for Indian corporated through GDR (Global Depository Receipt), FCCB (Foreign Currency Convertible Bond) and London AIM Marker. It has fully licenced offices in New York, Singapore, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and London.

Elara Capital is one of the 10 book runners of the FPO that the group called off.

Also, according to the Hindenburg report, Mauritius-based funds run by a London firm were part of a scheme to manipulate the stock price of Adani Grpup’s listed companies.

Financial Times reported that two Mauritius-based Elara funds — the Elara India Opportunities Fund and Vespera — have been significant investors in Adani’s publicly traded companies. According to data from S&P Global Intelligence, Elara Capital’s asset management arm was the third-largest shareholder in Adani Enterprises with a 5.1 per cent stake in the summer of 2021.

Boris Johnson met Gautam Adani in April 2022 when Boris was in Ahmedabad on a two-day India visit.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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