In August, as India’s Adani Group neared the completion of its $10.5 billion purchase of two cement businesses, the conglomerate and its banks put out some particularly complicated filings.

On page 21 of an 85-page document was a diagram of seven unlisted firms registered in the British Virgin Islands, Mauritius and Dubai. They were interlinked to each other, and one would be buying the cement company’s shares in the open market.But the ultimate beneficiary of the seven entities wasnt listed as the group face public face and chairman, billionaire Gautam Adani.

Neither Mr Vinod Adani nor his wife hold managerial positions in any listed Adani companies, and they are not among the top executives listed on the conglomerate’s website. Yet, the appearance of their names in connection with the group’s largest acquisition suggests the influence that Mr Gautam Adani’s little-known brother wields in the sprawling empire – as well as the family’s style of using a maze of small companies when doing big business.

In recent weeks, Vinod – who has worked in Dubai for years and is described in filings as a Cypriot national – has come into the international spotlight after short-seller Hindenburg Research named him prominently in its scathing report on the Adani Group that fuelled a rout of more than US$140 billion in its shares.

“Vinod Adani, through several close associates, manages a vast labyrinth of offshore shell entities,” the report said, identifying entities in Mauritius, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and several Caribbean islands. These entities “regularly and surreptitiously transact with Adani”, it said.