News of another expose, this time by OCCRP made headlines. After Hindenburg's report, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) has leveled new accusations of market manipulation against the Adani Group.

In a report released by OCCRP on August 31, the organization asserts that exclusive documents it has access to demonstrate that "in at least two cases... [supposedly public] investors turn out to have widely documented links to the group's majority shareholders, the Adani family," and that they assisted in manipulating the stock prices of Adani companies.

These claims have been unquestionably denied by the Adani Group, who labeled them as a "concerted attempt by Soros-funded organisations" to " bring back the meritless Hindenburg analysis."

What is OCCRP?

Investigative journalists Paul Radu from Bulgaria and American Sullivan established OCCRP in 2006 after realizing the similarities between their experiences in pursuing and covering corrupt systems and organized crime.

The OCCRP network's first office was established in Sarajevo and was initially supported by the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF). The OCCRP has expanded over time, going from six journalists operating in five different nations to more than 150 researchers in 30 different countries.

To better understand and expose worldwide networks of corruption and crime, the goal is to establish a network of journalists operating on a global scale with easy interaction and sharing of data. It also participates in the Global Investigative Journalism Network.

According to the OCCRP's own figures, reporting by the organization has resulted in 398 official investigations, 621 arrests and sentencing, 131 resignations, and more than $10 billion in fines and money seizures since 2009.

OCCRP's work over the years

Over the years, it has taken part in a number of high-profile inquiries, including numerous inquiries of Vladimir Putin and the billionaires of Russia. In addition, the OCCRP collaborated with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on the Panama Papers project, resulting in more than 40 reports about corruption involving offshore organizations that were recognized with the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Journalism.

For its efforts to promote peace by exposing political corruption and organized crime, the organization has been named for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

Does OCCPR have any ties to George Soros?

Adani refers to OCCPR as "Soros-backed" in his comments against it. The billionaire advocate donor George Soros received a lot of backlash earlier this year after making disparaging remarks about Narendra Modi and Gautam Adani following the Hindenburg report. Since then, references to Soros have regularly been made to cast doubt on criticism of the government or, in this instance, of Adani.

According to the OCCRP website, among its 21 major institutional funders is George Soros' Open Society Foundations. The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the US Department of State, the Ford Foundation, the German Marshall Fund, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency are further investors.

Source : DNA India