Adani Group says it lost nearly $55 bn since US corruption charges

NEW DELHI: India’s Adani Group conglomerate said Wednesday it had suffered a staggering loss of nearly $55 billion since US corruption charges against top officials, accusations the company denies.

“Since the intimation of the US DoJ (Department of Justice) indictment, the group has suffered a loss of near $55 billion in its market capitalisation across its 11 listed companies,” it said in a statement.

The November 20 bombshell indictment in New York accused billionaire industrialist founder Gautam Adani and multiple subordinates of deliberately misleading international investors as part of the bribery scheme.

It said they had “devised a scheme to offer, authorise, make and promise to make bribes payments to Indian government officials”.

Adani Group issued a stiff denial, describing the charges as “baseless”.

A statement on Wednesday said Adani officials are “only charged” with securities fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and securities fraud.

Adani is a close ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was at one point the world’s second-richest man, and critics have long accused him of improperly benefitting from their relationship.

The group said the action had led to “significant repercussions”, including “international project cancellations, financial market impact and sudden examination from strategic partners, investors and the public”.

With a business empire spanning coal, airports, cement and media, Adani Group has weathered previous corporate fraud allegations and suffered a similar stock crash last year.

The conglomerate saw $150 billion wiped from its market value in 2023 after a report by short-seller Hindenburg Research accused it of “brazen” corporate fraud.

Denying Hindenburg’s allegations, Adani called its report a “deliberate attempt” to damage its image for the benefit of short-sellers.