A report by the Morning Context has claimed Deloitte Haskins and Sells resigned as the auditor of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) because it was unable to certify two EPC contractors — Howe Engineering Projects and PMC Projects — were not linked to the group.

It was in August that Deloitte resigned as the statutory auditor of APSEZ. It had quit following differences with the company over certain transactions.

The Adani group firm had said that Deloitte resigned because it sought a wider audit role at other group firms.

Earlier, Deloitte reportedly cited at least three transactions in the preceding two quarters as it was not convinced by the management’s claims that they had not been entered with related parties.

The three transactions were flagged by the auditor in the financial statements for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, and the quarter ended June 30, 2023.

One of these transactions was an engineering contract with a subsidiary of a firm identified in the Hindenburg report.

The report had alleged that listed Adani companies had paid Rs 6,300 crore to PMC Projects, a private contractor, over the past 12 years to help construct major projects.

A 2014 DRI investigation allegedly called PMC Projects a “dummy firm” for the Adani group. The Adani group has maintained that the contractor was not a related party.

Now, a Morning Context investigation has claimed that one of the reasons behind the resignation of Deloitte was its inability to certify that another EPC firm, Howe Engineering Projects, is not related to Adani.

The Adani group had denied any related party links with Howe as well.

The Congress general-secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said recent media revelations has “further illuminated” the close links between the Adani group and a network of Adani confidantes.

“Two names have stood out: Chang Chung-Ling and Nasser Ali Shaban Ahli: Chang and Ahli have been identified as the middlemen who allegedly siphoned out around Rs 12,000 crore by over-invoicing coal imports from Indonesia to India done by Adani, which contributed to inflated electricity prices in India,” he said.