Adani Group Sees $30 Billion In Value Evaporate After U.S. Indictments

Shares of Adani Group companies lost about $28 billion in market value during trading after US prosecutors charged Gautam Adani, the billionaire chairman of the Indian conglomerate, in an alleged bribery and fraud scheme, Sethuraman N.R. and Bharath Rajeswaran reported for Reuters.

US authorities allege that Adani and seven other defendants agreed to pay $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure contracts expected to generate $2 billion in profit over 20 years. I Photo: Adani Group

Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship company, tumbled 23%, while shares of Adani Ports, Adani Total Gas, Adani Green, Adani Power, Adani Wilmar, Adani Energy Solutions, ACC, Ambuja Cements, and NDTV fell between 9% and 20%.

The combined market capitalization of the group’s 10 listed stocks stood at $141 billion as of 05:34 GMT, down from $169.08 billion on Tuesday.

US authorities allege that Adani and seven other defendants, including his nephew Sagar Adani, agreed to pay $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure contracts expected to generate $2 billion in profit over 20 years, including the development of India's largest solar power project.

In a statement on Thursday, Adani Green confirmed that the US Department of Justice had issued a criminal indictment against board members Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani, while the Securities and Exchange Commission had filed a civil complaint.

Board member Vneet Jaain was also named in the criminal indictment, the company added.