Adani Group criticizes ‘baseless’ allegations of fraud and bribery in New York

India’s Adani Group on Thursday rejected allegations of bribery and fraud by US authorities against group chairman Gautam Adani, saying all allegations were “baseless”.

Shares of companies in India’s Adani Group fell after Gautam Adani, one of the world’s richest people, was indicted in a New York federal court on charges of alleged bribery and fraud. Shares in Adani Green Energy, the company at the center of the allegations, fell 17.9%.

Adani and several other defendants are accused of paying Indian government officials more than $250 million in bribes to obtain solar power supply contracts worth more than $2 billion in profits.

The company’s 62-year-old chairman, his nephew Sagar Adani, and company colleague Vneet Jaain are accused of misleading American and international investors about their company’s compliance with anti-bribery and anti-corruption practices as they raised more than $3 billion in capital to finance energy contracts.

An Adani Group spokesman said the allegations by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of Adani Green Energy are “baseless and dismissed”.

“The Adani Group has always maintained and is unwaveringly committed to maintaining the highest standards of governance, transparency and regulatory compliance across all jurisdictions of its operations. We assure our stakeholders, partners and employees that we are a law abiding organisation, that fully complies with all laws,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

They added that “every possible legal remedy will be sought,” following the allegations.

Shares in Adani investor GQG Partners also cratered around 20% on Thursday.

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– CNBCs Boon Ping and Dan Mangan contributed to this story.