Gautam Adani plans to appoint auditors from a top global firm and hire a chief executive for his family offices to bring a level of disclosure often associated with listed companies, Bloomberg reported.
The founders of the mining-to-media conglomerate are talking to two of the big six accounting firms to audit the family offices’ accounts, the sources said.
The moves aim to bring transparency in how the wealth of Asia’s second-richest person, valued at $105.4 billion, is managed and underscores the lessons from last year’s short-seller attack.
The first-generation entrepreneur faced intense scrutiny and criticism from Hindenburg Research on multiple issues, including the opacity in how the group operates and controls its listed entities.
Hiring is under way for a team of about five people, led by a chief executive and a chief investment officer, that will initially report to the group chief financial officer, Jugeshinder Singh, and eventually to the billionaire founder, the people said.
Mr Adani's family’s wealth offices were, until now, run informally with the help of group firms’ chief financial officers.
While getting professionals to lead wealth offices is not uncommon, especially for billionaires who are still actively running their businesses, efforts to appoint a global audit firm and bolster disclosures are a rather rare initiative and in sharp contrast to most of the family offices, where discretion and secrecy are preferred.
This shows that Mr Adani is looking for an image makeover after a tumultuous period last year. Increased transparency will burnish the conglomerate’s credentials too as it steadily increases its global footprint and woos global investors.
The recast family office management will also oversee the founders’ shareholding across the listed Adani Group firms, besides preparing financial reports for the additional disclosures the family wants to make, the sources said.
While some of the professional managers may be hired next month, the recast family office will be fully operational from April 2025. The structure may undergo changes in the meantime, the sources added.
Mr Adani’s empire has been growing at a breakneck pace in the past five years, often by piling on debt.
This rapid pace of growth – and the runaway rally in his firms’ shares – came under the scathing spotlight after Hindenburg made allegations of wide-ranging corporate malfeasance in January last year.
The US short seller had also criticised the Adani family for using a complicated web of offshore entities to control a larger stake in their listed businesses than disclosed to exchanges.
Despite Adani Group denying these accusations, the short seller’s withering report lopped off more than $150 billion from Adani companies’ market value at one point last year and pushed the founders into damage control mode for months.
After executing operational fixes – paring debt, reining in costs and luring investors like GQG Partners – that helped the Adani Group restore most of the lost ground, the founders have now moved to address deeper questions such as laying down a succession plan and bringing professionals to manage their family offices.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s X attracted investment from a host of big names from Silicon Valley to global finance, including Sean “Diddy” Combs and billionaire Larry Ellison, according to a court document unsealed on August 21.
Many investors listed, such as Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and venture capital houses Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia, have been previously disclosed.
However, the filing outlines X Holdings shareholders in full for the first time in one document, giving the public an overview of the backers behind the social media platform Mr Musk bought for $44 billion in 2022.
They include big names in investing such as Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Fidelity.
The takeover drew controversy almost from the moment Mr Musk announced his intentions.
Since the acquisition, Mr Musk has gutted its staff and alienated advertisers. He now plans to transform the platform into an everything-app, incorporating services from highly-produced video series to payments.
The court filing, which a judge ordered unsealed as part of a lawsuit brought by former Twitter employees, lists scores of shareholders but doesn’t offer a breakdown nor delve into the latest details of their stakes.
Previous disclosures showed that Mr Musk owned 75 per cent of X’s parent company as of October, while no other backer held more than 10 per cent.
Carl Icahn
Billionaire Carl Icahn and his investment firm have agreed to pay $2 million to settle a US Securities and Exchange Commission probe that found the famed investor didn’t properly disclose how much he was borrowing against his stake in the company.
Mr Icahn was fined $500,000 and Icahn Enterprises will pay $1.5 million related to insufficient disclosure of how IEP units were pledged as collateral against his personal margin loans, according to an SEC statement on August 19.
The investigation started after a report by short-seller Hindenburg Research tanked shares in Mr Icahn’s investment firm.
The settlement agreement shows that the 88-year-old investor pledged up to 65 per cent of his IEP units from 2018 to 2022. In exchange, he was granted up to $5.1 billion in personal margin loans by various lenders.
“We are glad to put this matter behind us and will continue to focus on operating the business for the benefit of unit holders,” Mr Icahn said.
After Hindenburg’s report, “the government investigation that followed has resulted in this settlement which makes no claim IEP or I inflated NAV or engaged in a ‘Ponzi-like’ structure”.
Both settlement agreements noted that Mr Icahn and IEP co-operated with the investigation in providing relevant information and documents.
Mr Icahn and Icahn Enterprises didn’t admit to or deny the SEC’s findings, but they agreed to cease and desist from future breaches, the agency said.
We are glad to put this matter behind us and will continue to focus on operating the business for the benefit of unit holders
Carl Icahn
The SEC determined that Mr Icahn didn’t properly amend a securities filing to describe his personal agreements and pledges of IEP securities until July last year. That month, he also renegotiated loan terms with a group of banks, unlinking the loans from IEP’s share performance.
Both Mr Icahn and IEP had independent disclosure obligations under federal law that would have revealed Mr Icahn’s pledge of more than half of IEP’s outstanding shares, said Osman Nawaz, chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s complex financial instruments unit.
“Due to both disclosure failures, existing and prospective investors were deprived of required information,” Mr Nawaz said.
Icahn Enterprises said last year that it had been contacted by both the SEC’s enforcement division and the US Attorney’s Office to provide information on its corporate management, capitalisation, securities offerings, disclosures, dividends, valuation, marketing materials and due diligence.
Icahn Enterprises’ stock was sent on a downward spiral last May when Hindenburg Research said it was shorting units of the company.
Hindenburg said in a lengthy report that IEP was overpriced and that it had found evidence of inflated valuations for some of its assets.
Hindenburg Research, run by Nate Anderson, published a report last year accusing IEP of inflating its asset value as well as underperformance.
“Icahn rightly got charged by the SEC for failing to disclose details of his massive margin loan,” Hindenburg wrote in a social media post on August 19.
“Rather than blame us for his own investment failings, Icahn should put his money where his mouth is.”
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.
The "miners" use computers to make complex calculations that verify transactions in Bitcoin. This uses a tremendous amount of energy via computers and server farms all over the world, which has given rise to concerns about the amount of fossil fuel-dependent electricity used to power the computers.
RESULTS
Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Azizbek Satibaldiev (KYG). Round 1 KO
Featherweight: Izzeddin Farhan (JOR) beat Ozodbek Azimov (UZB). Round 1 rear naked choke
Middleweight: Zaakir Badat (RSA) beat Ercin Sirin (TUR). Round 1 triangle choke
Featherweight: Ali Alqaisi (JOR) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB). Round 1 TKO
Featherweight: Abu Muslim Alikhanov (RUS) beat Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG). Unanimous decision
Catchweight 74kg: Mirafzal Akhtamov (UZB) beat Marcos Costa (BRA). Split decision
Welterweight: Andre Fialho (POR) beat Sang Hoon-yu (KOR). Round 1 TKO
Lightweight: John Mitchell (IRE) beat Arbi Emiev (RUS). Round 2 RSC (deep cuts)
Middleweight: Gianni Melillo (ITA) beat Mohammed Karaki (LEB)
Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira (BRA) beat Amiran Gogoladze (GEO). Unanimous decision
Flyweight (Female): Carolina Jimenez (VEN) beat Lucrezia Ria (ITA), Round 1 rear naked choke
Welterweight: Daniel Skibinski (POL) beat Acoidan Duque (ESP). Round 3 TKO
Lightweight: Martun Mezhlumyan (ARM) beat Attila Korkmaz (TUR). Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ray Borg (USA) beat Jesse Arnett (CAN). Unanimous decision
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RACE CARD
5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,400m
5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 1,000m
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 2,000m
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 2,000m
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Al Ain Mile Group 3 (PA) Dh350,000 1,600m
8pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Amith's selections:
5pm: AF Sail
5.30pm: Dahawi
6pm: Taajer
6.30pm: Pharitz Oubai
7pm: Winked
7.30pm: Shahm
8pm: Raniah
Biography
Favourite drink: Must have karak chai and Chinese tea every day
Favourite non-Chinese food: Arabic sweets and Indian puri, small round bread of wheat flour
Favourite Chinese dish: Spicy boiled fish or anything cooked by her mother because of its flavour
Best vacation: Returning home to China
Music interests: Enjoys playing the zheng, a string musical instrument
Enjoys reading: Chinese novels, romantic comedies, reading up on business trends, government policy changes
Favourite book: Chairman Mao Zedong’s poems
Company%C2%A0profile
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Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
%E2%80%98FSO%20Safer%E2%80%99%20-%20a%20ticking%20bomb
%3Cp%3EThe%20%3Cem%3ESafer%3C%2Fem%3E%20has%20been%20moored%20off%20the%20Yemeni%20coast%20of%20Ras%20Issa%20since%201988.%3Cbr%3EThe%20Houthis%20have%20been%20blockading%20UN%20efforts%20to%20inspect%20and%20maintain%20the%20vessel%20since%202015%2C%20when%20the%20war%20between%20the%20group%20and%20the%20Yemen%20government%2C%20backed%20by%20the%20Saudi-led%20coalition%20began.%3Cbr%3ESince%20then%2C%20a%20handful%20of%20people%20acting%20as%20a%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.ae%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D%26ved%3D2ahUKEwiw2OfUuKr4AhVBuKQKHTTzB7cQFnoECB4QAQ%26url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.thenationalnews.com%252Fworld%252Fmena%252Fyemen-s-floating-bomb-tanker-millions-kept-safe-by-skeleton-crew-1.1104713%26usg%3DAOvVaw0t9FPiRsx7zK7aEYgc65Ad%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3Eskeleton%20crew%3C%2Fa%3E%2C%20have%20performed%20rudimentary%20maintenance%20work%20to%20keep%20the%20%3Cem%3ESafer%3C%2Fem%3E%20intact.%3Cbr%3EThe%20%3Cem%3ESafer%3C%2Fem%3E%20is%20connected%20to%20a%20pipeline%20from%20the%20oil-rich%20city%20of%20Marib%2C%20and%20was%20once%20a%20hub%20for%20the%20storage%20and%20export%20of%20crude%20oil.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20%3Cem%3ESafer%3C%2Fem%3E%E2%80%99s%20environmental%20and%20humanitarian%20impact%20may%20extend%20well%20beyond%20Yemen%2C%20experts%20believe%2C%20into%20the%20surrounding%20waters%20of%20Saudi%20Arabia%2C%20Djibouti%20and%20Eritrea%2C%20impacting%20marine-life%20and%20vital%20infrastructure%20like%20desalination%20plans%20and%20fishing%20ports.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Jawan
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
