In its first detailed response to the US authorities’ indictment, the Adani group clarified that there are no bribery charges against billionaire Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and Vneet Jaain, as per the US Department of Justice indictment and the allegations are of securities and wire fraud.

The clarification sent stocks of group companies soaring 4-20 per cent, with Adani Power and Adani Total Gas hitting their upper circuit.

In a statement to the exchanges, Adani Green Energy said that neither the Adanis nor Jaain has been charged with any violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act “in the counts set forth in the indictment of the US DOJ or the civil complaint of the US SEC.” The Adani group, in a separate media statement, said it has also not been charged with any conspiracy to obstruct justice in the US DOJ indictment or the civil complaint of the US SEC.

Since Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and Vneet Jaain have not been charged with FCPA violation and obstruction of justice, “they cannot be charged by the US authorities on securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and securities fraud,” the statement said.

The group said that those charged with conspiracy to violate FCPA, as per the US DoJ indictment, were Ranjit Gupta, Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra, and Rupesh Agarwal.

It clarified that, in the criminal indictment, the directors have been charged on three counts: alleged securities fraud conspiracy, alleged wire fraud conspiracy, and alleged securities fraud.

It added that only officials of Azure Energy and Canadian institutional investor Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) had been charged with bribery in the US indictment.

In a media statement, the Adani group said that since the intimation of the US DoJ Indictment, the group has suffered a loss of nearly $55 billion in its market capitalisation across its 11 listed companies.

The group said that a flawed understanding of the indictment against the directors of Adani Green Energy had led to a steep decline in group stocks, credit rating downgrades, and the withdrawal of $600 million worth of green bonds by Adani Green. It pointed out that TotalEnergies had halted new investments in Adani firms, while the US International Development Finance Corporation was reviewing its $550 million port development loan for a container terminal in Colombo.

One of its strong backers, GQG Partners, has faced financial setbacks due to its substantial holdings in Adani companies. while US investment bank Jefferies is reconsidering its relationship with the group, the statement said.

Stock reaction

Following the clarification from the Adani group, index stocks Adani Enterprises rose 11.6 per cent and Adani Ports and SEZ rose 5.9 per cent. Adani Green Energy, which is at the centre of the bribery allegations, ended 10 per cent higher, as did Adani Energy Solutions.

Adani Wilmar ended up 8.3 per cent higher, while Ambuja Cement rose 4.5 per cent.

The group added over ₹1.2 lakh crore in market capitalisation with the day’s gains.

Published on November 27, 2024