New Delhi: Adani Group companies lost about USD 27 billion in market value on Thursday after the US Department of Justice (DoJ) issued a five-count criminal indictment order. The order accused Adani Group’s chairman Gautam Adani and several of his business associates and former officials of Azure Power of indulging in bribery to secure contracts with power distribution companies for sale of power. “In or about and between 2020 and 2024, senior executives of (i) an Indian renewable energy company, which was a portfolio company of an Indian conglomerate; (ii) an issuer company that operated in the renewable-energy sector whose securities were traded on a United States exchange; and (iii) that issuer’s largest shareholder, a Canadian institutional investor, participated in a scheme to bribe Indian government officials to ensure the execution of lucrative solar energy supply contracts with Indian government entities,” said the indictment order.
The charges against Adani Group include promising more than USD 250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure power sale agreements for manufacturing linked solar power project, conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud, and orchestrating “a multi-billion dollar scheme” to defraud US investors and global financial institutions by giving “false and misleading statements.”
Adani’s flagship Adani Enterprises dropped 23 percent on Thursday in its worst one-day fall since February 2023. While other Adani Group companies, including Adani Ports, Adani Total Gas, Adani Green, Adani Power, Adani Wilmar and Adani Energy Solutions, ACC, and Ambuja Cements tanked between 7 percent and 19 percent.
Terming the indictment order baseless, Adani Group said in a statement, “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. We assure our stakeholders, partners and employees that we are a law-abiding organisation, fully compliant with all laws.”
“The allegations made by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of Adani Green are baseless and denied,” it said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the Modi government during a press conference on Thursday, accusing the Prime Minister of shielding Adani. “Modi and Adani are inseparable. They are untouchable together,” he said, demanding Adani’s arrest and an inquiry into Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch’s role. Gandhi reiterated his call for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe, asserting that the indictment validates the party’s long-standing allegations of cronyism and corruption.
Another Congress leader Jairam Ramesh once again hit out at the alleged nexus between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani. “The non-biological PM’s long-standing relationship with the Adani Group is globally well known – and poses a tremendous risk for India’s foreign policy and economic interests overseas. Remember, former Kenyan PM Railo Odinga - who is under attack for favouritism to the Adani Group - admitted that he was introduced to the businessman over a decade ago by the-then CM of Gujarat, who also lobbied aggressively for the A Group,” he said in a biting statement.
“We have demanded to book Adani on corruption charges and proceed against him, including arrest. We have also demanded that an independent investigation into all the other allegations should be conducted. Even in the Hindenburg revelations, he was defended. It is directly Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government led by him who have extended protection and defended Adani personally. It is a shame for our country that it is the United States of America’s Justice Department which has collected all this information because it believes that US Companies were misled. They are protecting the interests of their companies from this fraud by Adani. Whereas the government of India, led by PM Modi is protecting him and his companies and giving him permission, license and patronage to loot India and India's resources... What are you saying about India to the rest of the world? That this government is protecting the most corrupt entities? This is a time when it is in India’s interest that this man be booked immediately under corruption charges. And along with that, an independent investigative agency to look into all the other issues,” said CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat.
While the Modi government has not commented on the case so far, senior BJP leader Amit Malaviya said in a long post that the document put out by the US DOJ mentioned that the charges are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. “This was subject to SECI entering into PPA with State electricity distribution companies (SDCs). There was a collaboration between Adani Green Energy with a US renewable energy, Azure Power, under which Azure was allotted 4 GW and Adani Green Energy 8 MW. Since the power was costly, the SDCs were not willing to buy. Therefore, the Adanis (in collusion with Azure Power; a US firm) paid the equivalent of US $265 million to SDCs based in Odisha (BJD ruled), Tamilnadu (DMK), Chhattisgarh (Congress) and Andhra Pradesh (YSRCP) between Jul 21 and Feb 22 (by far the largest to AP),” said Malaviya.
“All the states mentioned here were Opposition ruled during that time. So, before you pontificate, answer on the bribes the Congress and its allies accepted,” he said.
BJP MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra reiterated the charge that none of the four states in question had BJP governments at the time. “Congress was in power or was supporting the ruling party. This entire issue is linked to the Congress party and its allies,” he said, adding that former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel and the other three then Chief Ministers must be questioned in this connection. “If Adani is corrupt, then why are the Congress governments seeking investment from his company,” he asked.
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