Adani Group refutes allegations of bribery by US authorities, cites DOJ's ‘presumed innocent’ stance

Adani Group strongly refuted allegations made by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against directors of its renewable energy arm, Adani Green. In a statement issued on November 21, the company dismissed the charges as “baseless” and vowed to pursue all available legal remedies.

Referencing the U.S. Department of Justice's own stance, the group emphasised that the charges are merely allegations. As stated by the US Department of Justice itself, "the charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty," the company said in a filing. All possible legal recourse will be sought, it added.

The Adani Group reiterated its commitment to adhering to the highest standards of governance, transparency, and regulatory compliance across all regions where it operates. "We assure our stakeholders, partners, and employees that we are a law-abiding organisation, fully compliant with all laws," the spokesperson said.

Shares of several Adani Group companies, including its flagship Adani Enterprises, suffered steep losses on Thursday, November 21, hitting their lower circuits in early trading. The sell-off was triggered by the revelation of a criminal indictment in New York against Gautam Adani, accusing him of involvement in a multibillion-dollar bribery and fraud scheme.

US authorities alleges Adani Group scams

U.S. authorities alleged that over $250 million in bribes were promised to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts.

"A five-count criminal indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain, executives of an Indian renewable-energy company (the Indian Energy Company), with conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud and substantive securities fraud for their roles in a multi-billion-dollar scheme to obtain funds from US investors and global financial institutions on the basis of false and misleading statements," stated the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.

The statement further detailed, "The indictment also charges Ranjit Gupta and Rupesh Agarwal, former executives of a renewable-energy company with securities that had traded on the New York Stock Exchange (the U.S. Issuer), and Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal and Deepak Malhotra, former employees of a Canadian institutional investor, with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with a bribery scheme also perpetrated by Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain, involving one of the world’s largest solar energy projects."

Adani Energy Solutions saw its stock drop to its 20 per cent lower circuit at ₹697.70 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone also faced sharp declines of up to 10 per cent to ₹2,538.20 and ₹1,160.15 on the BSE.

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