Adani Executes Coup d’état on Mumbai Airport with Military Precision Long before COVID19 turned the global economy and aviation industry on its head, GVK was facing a host of threats to its coveted position as one of the pre-eminent airport operators in the Indian market and as an emerging player on the international scene   Past successes and ambitions aside, the reality of its heavy debt burden, made markedly more dire thanks to COVID19 and a devastated global economy, have laid bare GVK’s vulnerabilities. Meanwhile, passing largely unnoticed, in mid-Oct 2019 it was reported (but refuted by GVK) that information brought forth by a whistle-blower had prompted a gov’t probe into MIAL’s accounts.  Fast forwarding to early July 2020, news hit the global press that the Indian Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed a money laundering suit against GVK Group, MIAL and others including GVK’s Group Chairman Reddy Gunupatii and his son G.V. Sanjay Reddy, Managing Director in MIAL, thrusting the ADIA-NIIF-PSP transaction and GVK’s future into further doubt. On Jul. 28, 2020, the ED executed searches at nine GVK/MIAL locations associated with alleged money laundering and other irregularities by GVK/MIAL in the order of USD 90m. Roughly one month later, in an expected plot twist, Adani pounced and is now poised to take control to BOM and Navi Mumbai airports. Click here for IR Pulse article.