The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged billionaire Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of the Adani Group, with defrauding American investors and bribing officials; U.S. authorities have issued arrest warrants for Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani.
A US court indicted Gautam Adani and seven others,, including his nephew Sagar and three other executives, on charges of fraud and bribery. The case pertained to a deal between Adani Green Energy and a US firm to sell 12 gigawatts of solar power to various states. The charges came on a day when the firm planned a green bond launch in the US. The Adani subsidiary eventually cancelled the sale.
Adanis stocks nosedived as reports of a possible arrest of one of India’s richest businessman looms large. The Congress, which has repeatedly sought a JPC probe into the “Adani Mega Scam” said it’s stand has been vindicated.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged billionaire Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of the Adani Group, with allegedly defrauding American investors and bribing officials. The SEC alleged that the bribery scheme was orchestrated to enable renewable energy companies Adani Green and Azure Power to capitalise on a multi-billion-dollar solar energy project awarded by the Indian government. The complaint charges them with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and seeks permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and officer and director bars.
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Adani group stocks faced heavy drubbing during the morning trade on Thursday (November 21, 2024), with the combined market valuation of all the listed firms getting eroded by ₹2.45 lakh crore. –PTI
What are the charges against Adani?
Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Jaain were charged with securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy, and the Adanis were also charged in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil case.
Five other defendants were charged with conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a U.S. anti-bribery law, and four were charged with conspiring to obstruct justice.
U.S authorities said Adani and seven other defendants, including his nephew Sagar Adani, agreed to pay the bribes to Indian government officials to obtain contracts expected to yield $2 billion of profit over 20 years, and develop India’s largest solar power plant project.
Shares of Adani Group companies lost about $28 billion in market value
Shares of Adani Group companies lost about $28 billion in market value in morning trade on Thursday after U.S. prosecutors charged the billionaire chairman of the Indian conglomerate in an alleged bribery and fraud scheme.
“Investors will shy away from Adani Group stocks… and that’s what this sharp selling is signifying,” said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice president of retail equities research at SMC Global Securities.
“This could hurt the group’s credibility and maybe borrowing costs will rise,” he said.
U.S. court issues arrest warrant for Gautam Adani
Following the Gautam Adani’s indictment in the U.S. over an alleged multi-billion-dollar fraud scheme, a New York judge has issued a warrant for Mr . Adani’s arrest, media reports said.
According to ABC News, quoting court records, the arrest warrant will be given to foreign law enforcement authorities.
The indictment of Adani Group’s chairman and other senior officials on bribery charges is credit-negative for the companies: Moody’s Ratings.
“The indictment of Adani Group’s chairman and other senior officials on bribery charges is credit-negative for the group’s companies. Our main focus when assessing Adani Group is on the ability of the group’s companies to access capital to meet their liquidity requirements and on its governance practices,” says Moody’s Ratings, a credit rating agency.
Sensex, Nifty tumble in early trade; after Adani group stocks market crash
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled in early trade on Thursday (November 21, 2024) amid sharp fall in Adani group stocks and unabated foreign fund outflows.
Weak trends from Asian peers also drove the markets lower during the initial trade.
The BSE benchmark Sensex tumbled 468.17 points to 77,110.21 in early trade. The NSE Nifty declined 179.75 points to 23,338.75 – PTI
Adani statement on the indictment of the group chairman by U.S. Justice Department
Adani Green Energy says subsidiaries have decided not to proceed with proposed USD-denominated bond offerings.
Gautam Adani personally met with an Indian government official to advance the Bribery Scheme: Congress
Congress alleges that “on several occasions, Gautam S Adani personally met with an Indian government official to advance the Bribery Scheme” and claims to have electronic and cellular phone evidence of this, Congress said.
Adani Enterprises share fell 10% in pre-open trade
Adani Enterprises fell 10% in pre-open trade, while Adani Ports, Adani Total Gas, Adani Green, Adani Power , Adani Wilmar and Adani Energy Solutions , ACC, Ambuja Cements and NDTV fell between 7% and 18%. – Reuters
Congress calls for JPC into Adani group transactions after US prosecutors charge Gautam Adani an alleged bribery case.
After a US District Court in New York charged the Chairman of the Adani Group, Gautam Adani, with linking him and others to an alleged bribery and fraud scheme, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday that it vindicated the demand that the Congress was making for a Joint Parliamentary Committee investigation into the various alleged scams. – ANI
