US DoJ Charges Adani Group Over False Statements and Bribery Allegations, Shares and Bonds Drop

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has charged the Adani Group, accusing the company of misleading investors by making false statements to Indian stock exchanges, the NSE and BSE.

 The DoJ claims that, despite knowing about FBI and grand jury investigations into bribery allegations, the Adani Group denied being aware of these probes.

 In March 2024, after news of the US investigation, Gautam and Sagar Adani were reportedly aware of subpoenas sent to top executives and evidence taken from Sagar Adani’s devices.

 However, the group publicly stated that it was "not aware of any investigation" and continued to claim it followed "the highest standards of governance."

Additionally, on March 19, 2024, the Adani Group misled the NSE and BSE by stating that Adani Green Energy had not received any notice from the US DoJ regarding the bribery allegations. 

The indictment also claims that Gautam and Sagar Adani pressured other executives to issue these false statements. 

The Adani Group has denied all allegations, while the stock exchanges have yet to comment on any actions taken against the company. If proven true, the group could face penalties or even delisting under the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) rules.

Meanwhile, Adani Green Energy’s subsidiaries recently withdrew a $600 million foreign bond offering following the criminal indictment and civil complaint issued by the US DoJ against some of the group’s board members. 

The bond offering, which had opened just a day earlier, was three times oversubscribed.

 This marks the second time in recent months that Adani Green has canceled a bond offering, with the previous one postponed in October due to market conditions linked to the US presidential election.

Moody’s Ratings has described the bribery charges as "credit negative" for the Adani Group, and the value of the group’s bonds dropped after the announcement.

 On November 22, 2024, shares of Adani Group companies fell sharply following the charges against Gautam Adani. 

Adani Enterprises, the main company, dropped by 4%, its lowest level since May 2023. 

Other important Adani stocks, including Adani Ports, Adani Total Gas, Adani Green, Adani Power, Adani Wilmar, and Adani Energy Solutions, saw drops between 3% and 10%. In comparison, ACC fell slightly by 0.5%, while Ambuja Cements and NDTV had small gains of about 1% each.