Congress Asks 3 Questions on Adani Group's Relations with Chinese National Chang Chung-Ling
Moneylife Digital Team 03 March 2023
In the twenty-first instalment of the series, 'Hum Adani Ke Hai Kaun' (HAHK), the Congress party asked three questions to prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi related to the Adani group's relations with Chinese national Chang Chung-Ling (aka Lingo-Chang).
 
In a release, Jairam Ramesh, member of Parliament (MP) and general secretary for communications of Congress, says, "Today we focus on the disturbing Chinese connections of a business group that has control of critical Indian infrastructure such as ports and airports and is also a player in defence segments like drones, small arms and defence electronics." This is also the second in a sub-series of questions related to Gautam Adani's older brother Vinod titled 'Dikh Raha Hai Vinod'.
 
Here are the three questions asked by Congress to PM…
 
(1) Like you, the Adani group has a longstanding relationship with the People's Republic of China. A Chinese national, Chang Chung-Ling (aka Lingo-Chang) has been a director in several Adani group companies along with Vinod Adani and has also made an appearance in the Panama Papers. In December 2017, South Korea seized the Panama-registered oil tanker Koti for transferring petroleum products to a North Korean tanker in violation of UN sanctions. It emerged that the Koti, which South Korea subsequently scrapped, was owned by Chang Chung-Ling's sons Chien-Ting Chang and Chien-Huan Chang. The Koti and the Koti Corporation are both on UN and US sanction lists. There are deeper links with the Adani group: Chien-Ting Chang is also known to be an owner of PMC Projects that helped construct Mundra and other Adani Group ports. What is Chang Chung-Ling's exact relationship with the Adani family? What influence do the governments of China and North Korea have over a group that controls strategic Indian assets and has a close relationship with India's prime minister? Are you recklessly endangering the security of critical Indian assets by your dependence on a business group that is vulnerable to being influenced by China and North Korea?
 
(2) The Koti's UN sanctions-busting voyage was part-financed by the Hong Kong-registered Firstec Maritime, a firm owned by the Shanghai Adani Shipping Company as well as by Chien-Ting Chang and Chien-Huan Chang. Until it was liquidated in 2019, Shanghai Adani Shipping did business with Adani Global and the Chang-owned Hi Lingos, as did another firm called Adani Shipping (China) Company (aka Dalian Adani Shipping). None of these firms has been acknowledged as an Adani subsidiary so far. Why are there so many murky connections between the Adani group and Chinese nationals engaging in illegal activity? What is their relationship with Vinod and Gautam Adani?
 
(3) The Adani group has repeatedly described Vinod Adani in filings as an NRI with Cyprus citizenship. Yet Dubai property records reportedly show that Vinod Adani holds an Indian passport expiring in 2026. Given that India does not have dual citizenship, how is it possible for him to have an Indian passport? Should the government facilitate or investigate a person accused of money-laundering and operating shell companies in collusion with Chinese nationals?
 
Read about previous questions here… 
 
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