Viceroy calls semiconductor unit of Vedanta a ‘sham op’

NEW DELHI: Continuing its tirade against mining heavyweight Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta group, US-based Viceroy Research has alleged that the group’s semiconductor unit was a “sham commodities trading operation”, designed to avoid classification as an NBFC, a charge the conglomerate called baseless.The short seller, which last week published a scathing report about Vedanta Group and followed it up with similar reports on group companies, in fresh allegations said Vedanta Ltd’s subsidiary, Vedanta Semiconductors Pvt Ltd, was part of a scheme to allow the Mumbai-listed firm to remit brand fees to parent Vedanta Resources in April this year, when it faced a severe liquidity crisis. In a statement, Vedanta spokesperson said the group “strongly rejects the baseless allegations made in the report regarding Vedanta Semiconductors Pvt Ltd (VSPL)”. “All business activities of VSPL have been transparently disclosed and are in line with statutory norms,” it said.Viceroy said, “VSPL is a sham commodities trading operation designed to improperly avoid classification as a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC)”. “This scheme was devised to facilitate Vedanta Ltd’s remittance of brand fees to Vedanta Resources’ (VRL) in April 2025, when it faced a severe liquidity crisis,” Viceroy said.“VSPL’s operational illusion needs 24 months of regulatory silence to fulfil its purpose, repaying its offshore lenders and hiding the near-catastrophe of April 2024. While credit analysts are snoozing through the alarm bells, India’s regulators are famously light sleepers,” it added.