Gautam Adani Fraud Scandal: In the US, 8 people including industrialist Gautam Adani have been accused of fraud worth billions of rupees. The United States Attorney’s Office says that Adani paid or was planning to pay a bribe of $265 million (about Rs 2200 crore) to Indian officials to get a solar energy contract in India.
This entire matter is related to Adani Group company Adani Green Energy Limited and another firm. This case was registered in the Federal Court of New York on 24 October 2024. In its hearing on Wednesday, Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, Vineet S Jain, Ranjit Gupta, Cyril Cabanis, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra and Rupesh Agarwal have been made accused.
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According to a Reuters report, an arrest warrant has also been issued against Gautam Adani and Sagar. Sagar is an officer of Adani Green Energy Limited.
American investors’ money, that’s why the case is there
Adani is accused of lying to American investors and banks to raise this bribe money. The case was registered in America because American investors’ money was invested in the project and under American law, giving that money as a bribe is a crime.
Adani said- all allegations are baseless, I deny it
Adani Group has called all the allegations baseless. In a statement, the group said – ‘The allegations leveled by the United States Department of Justice and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission against the directors of Adani Green Energy Limited are baseless. We deny them.
The US Justice Department itself said that these are just allegations right now. The accused are considered innocent until proven guilty.
“Our company will seek all possible legal recourse. In the countries where we conduct business, we have adhered to governance, transparency, and regulations. We assure all stakeholders and employees that we are an organization that abides by the law.”
— Adani Group
Adani Green Energy halts bond offering
On Wednesday, Adani Group had announced to raise $600 million (Rs 5064 crore) from the sale of 20-year green bonds. A few hours later, he was accused of fraud.
Adani Green Energy Limited said in a stock exchange filing – The United States Department of Justice and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission have filed a criminal case and a civil complaint in the New York District Court against our board members Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani.
The US Justice Department has also included our board member Vineet Jain in this criminal case. In view of this, our subsidiaries have decided not to proceed with the proposed bond offerings for the time being. Now this bond offering has also been postponed by the Adani Group.
Gautam Adani’s net worth decreased by ₹ 1.02 lakh crore in one day
The net worth of Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani has dropped by $12.1 billion (about Rs 1.02 lakh crore) to $57.7 billion (Rs 4.87 lakh crore) in a day due to the fall in the shares of companies after allegations of bribery and fraud. With this, Adani has come directly from number 25 to number 22 in the Forbes Real Time Billionaires List. However, even after this, Gautam Adani remains the second richest Indian after Mukesh Ambani.
9 out of 10 stocks of Adani Group declined
Out of the 10 stocks of Adani Group, 9 closed with a decline and 1 with a rise. Adani Enterprises fell the most by 23.44%. Whereas, Adani Green Energy’s stock closed with a decline of 18.95%.
Adani Enterprises Share Drops 23.44%
| Company | Previous Closing Price (₹) | Today’s Closing Price (₹) | Change (₹) | Change (%) |
|---|
| Adani Enterprises | 2,821.50 | 2,160.00 | -661.50 | -23.44% |
| Adani Ports | 1,289.65 | 1,119.05 | -170.60 | -13.23% |
| Adani Green Energy | 1,412.70 | 1,131.70 | -281.00 | -18.99% |
| Adani Power | 671.75 | 602.00 | -69.75 | -10.38% |
| Adani Transmission | 871.15 | 859.45 | -11.70 | -1.34% |
| Adani Wilmar | 524.10 | 473.70 | -50.40 | -9.60% |
| Adani Total Gas | 549.55 | 506.45 | -43.10 | -7.85% |
| ACC | 1,671.15 | 1,620.45 | -50.70 | -3.04% |
| NDTV | 168.79 | 169.79 | +1.00 | +0.59% |
Sagar Adani manages the energy business
Gautam Adani’s nephew, Sagar has an economics degree from Brown University US. Sagar joined the Adani Group in 2015. Sagar manages the group’s energy business and finance. He focuses on renewable energy business and plans to make the company the world’s largest renewable energy producer by 2030.
Adani Green Energy has a clean energy portfolio of over 20 GW
Adani Green Energy Limited has a clean energy portfolio of over 20 gigawatts, including one of the world’s largest solar power plants in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The Adani Group aims to become the country’s largest company in this sector by 2030. The company’s market cap is Rs 1.85 lakh crore.
Congress demanded investigation from JPC
After allegations of bribery and fraud in the US, the Congress on Thursday demanded an investigation by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). US Attorney Congress General Secretary and Communications Incharge Jairam Ramesh said – The serious allegations leveled by the US Attorney’s Office against Adani and others associated with him justifies the demand that the Congress has been making since January 2023.
Adani had announced investment in America last week
Adani had recently announced to invest $10 billion (Rs 84406 crore) in the US, which was expected to create 15,000 jobs.
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