Gautam Adani’s expansive business footprint did not come without controversy.
| Photo Credit: PUNIT PARANJPE
With a U.S. court indicting Gautam Adani and seven others on charges of securities and wire fraud, Adani’s stocks nosedived as possible arrest of one of India’s richest businessmen looms large. The indictment by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) and United States Securities and Exchange Commission accuses Mr. Adani of duping investors by concealing that his company’s huge solar energy project on the subcontinent was being facilitated by an alleged bribery scheme.
The fallout of the indictment was immediate. Adani Green Energy Ltd withdrew its proposed $600 million U.S. dollar denominated bond offering after the Easter New York district court charged the apples to airports conglomerate of bribery and civil charges of securities fraud, according to the company’s regulatory filings.
Moreover, shares of Adani Group companies lost about $28 billion in market value in morning trade on Thursday (November 21, 2024). Gautam Adani’s flagship company Adani Enterprises tumbled 23%, while Adani Ports, Adani Total Gas, Adani Green, Adani Power, Adani Wilmar and Adani Energy Solutions, ACC, Ambuja Cements and NDTV fell between 20% and 90%.
Also read | Gautam Adani US Indictment: Who are the seven others charged with defrauding American investors?
It is the latest scandal to grip the Adani Group a year after an OCCRP report accused the Adani family of using offshore funds in August 2023. In January 2023, U.S.-based short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the conglomerate of stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme, improper use of offshore tax havens and higher-than manageable debt levels. Previously, the Group has been accused of getting preferential treatment and environmental damage. Here is a timeline.
Published – November 21, 2024 01:19 pm IST
