Adani Group dropped Deloitte as the auditor of various U.K. subsidiaries last year, replacing it with a far smaller accountancy firm.
Crowe U.K. replaced the Big Four firm as the auditor of U.K. entities including Adani Energy Holdings Ltd. after the Indian firm bought them in 2021, corporate filings show. Crowe U.K. is ranked as the 12th largest firm by fee income in the U.K. by Accountancy Age.
Adani is seeking to restore confidence in his sprawling conglomerate's financial health after a scathing short seller attack in late-January wiped out $118 billion of the group's market value and forced the flagship to scrap a share sale. U.S.-based Hindenburg Research had accused it of accounting fraud, stock price manipulation and pledging their inflated shares for loans —- allegations Adani has repeatedly denied.
Adani's U.K. subsidiaries include a portfolio of renewable power plants across India that were sold to Adani Green Energy Limited by SoftBank Group and Bharti Enterprises in 2021. Adani hired Crowe U.K. to audit the companies after the acquisition, ditching Deloitte which used to audit the accounts.
SoftBank had a "U.K. holding company and thus primary audit was in [the] U.K.," Adani Green Energy Limited said in a statement to the Financial Times, which reported the news earlier. It noted that EY — a Big Four firm — audits the group's listed Indian parent company.
Crowe U.K. didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
