Gautam Adani, chairman of Indian conglomerate Adani Group, speaks at the World Congress of Accountants in Mumbai on November 19, 2022.
Indranil Mukherjee | Indranil Mukherjee AFP | Getty Images
U.S. bribery charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani are related to a contract with Adani Green Energy that accounts for about 50% of its business, the group’s chief financial officer said on Saturday. 10%, and no other companies in the group have been accused of wrongdoing.
Gautam Adani, one of the world’s richest men, and seven others were indicted by U.S. prosecutors on Wednesday for their alleged role in a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian officials to secure power supply deals.
Adani denies all accusations, calling them “baseless”.
On Saturday, the group’s chief financial officer, Jugeshinder Singh, sought to defend the charges, saying none of Adani’s 11 listed companies had been “sued” or “alleged of any wrongdoing in the above-mentioned legal filings.”
Singh said on
The charges from U.S. prosecutors are the biggest setback for India’s $143 billion Adani Group, which was hit last year by allegations that Hindenburg Research improperly used offshore tax havens, which the company denies.
The U.S. indictments have already had a significant impact on the business.
Shares in the group’s entities have plummeted, some global banks are considering temporarily halting new credit to Adani and Kenya has canceled two deals with Adani worth more than $2.5 billion. Adani, which owns several other global projects, has also been accused of misleading U.S. investors about Adani Green’s compliance with anti-bribery principles and laws.
Singer said on Saturday they had only become aware of the “unusual nature” of the U.S. accusations two days ago.
“We realize something is happening,” he said, adding that the company disclosed as much information to investors in a $750 million bond offering in 2024, about $175 million of which was raised from U.S. financial institutions .
However, the US indictment said the bond issuance “contained false and misleading assurances about the ‘corporate governance’ of the Indian energy company (Adani Green) and promoted ‘transparency and compliance in all aspects’.” ”
The charges also put the spotlight on Sagar Adani, a director at Adani Green and the company’s millennial successor, who recorded alleged communications to Indian officials on his cell phone Hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes.
Singh said the organization would comment in more detail once legal approval is obtained, once the matter has been brought before the courts.
