Adani may see wider impact from US setback

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai: The Adani Group denied bribery charges and vowed to explore legal options after a damaging indictment in the US, but the move failed to stop a run in its shares, posing the biggest test yet for the conglomerate which had rebuilt investor faith after the Hindenburg episode.

Concluding more than two years of investigation, the US Department of Justice accused group founder Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and six executives of Canadian pension fund CDPQ and its investee company Azure Power, of bribing Indian officials to the tune of ₹2,029 crore to secure favourable green power supply agreements. The US authorities also accused the Adanis of securities fraud for allegedly lying about the group's anti-bribery practices, and concealing investigations while raising funds in the US and elsewhere.

Prosecutors alleged that between 2020 and 2024, these individuals bribed unnamed Indian officials to secure solar energy supply contracts. Separately, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused the Adani Group of misconduct stemming from what it described as a “massive bribery scheme." “The Adani Group has always upheld and is steadfastly committed to maintaining the highest standards of governance, transparency and regulatory compliance across all jurisdictions of its operations," a press statement from the group read.

Investors in Adani group companies lost ₹2.24 trillion as shares plunged, reviving memories of the Hindenburg report in January 2023. However, the US indictment could have a wider impact, lawyers said, potentially involving hefty fines, disgorgement of assets and class action lawsuits, besides losing access to the wealthy investors who have so far backed the