How one of India’s greatest empires descended into chaos

Gautam Adani, the billionaire chairman of India’s Adani Group, was indicted Wednesday along with seven others in federal court in New York for his involvement in a large-scale bribery and fraud scheme.

Following the news, the conglomerate saw shares of its companies fall. Adani Enterprises is one of the country’s top three conglomerates. It has businesses in many sectors, including ports, airports, renewable energy and cement.

The latest development comes after the conglomerate spent most of 2023 trying to move beyond allegations of accounting fraud and stock market manipulation made by short-seller Hindenburg Research.

Here’s a timeline of Adani headlines over the past year, tracing a series of allegations and counter-allegations since the publication of Hindenburg’s report until his indictment.

January 2023

Early last year, Hindenburg announced his brief position at the Adani Group, accusing Adani of engaging in “seedy” stock manipulation and accounting fraud, calling it the “biggest con in the company’s history.”

Adani-linked shares saw a sharp sell-off following the report’s release, with Adani’s net worth falling by $6 billion overnight.

The conglomerate denied Hindenburg’s charges of embezzlement and fraud with a 413-page answercalling the latter’s report a “malicious combination of selective misinformation,” adding that it “has always complied with all laws.”

Around that time, Adani Enterprises launched a 200 billion rupee ($2.45 billion) secondary share sale, which was fully subscribed despite the short-seller storm.

March 2023 to May 2023

In March, India’s Supreme Court appoints a six-member independent panel to investigate the allegations in the Hindenburg Report.

Then in May, the court-appointed panel said it has “drawn a blank” in its probe into the Adani group, according to Reuters.

December 2023 to January 2024

By the end of 2023, Adani Enterprise shares had recovered from the fallout and ended the year down 26%.

India’s Supreme Court announced in January that the Adani group will not be subject to further investigations beyond the control of the market regulator, giving considerable relief to the conglomerate.

At that time, Adani went to Xand expresses his gratitude to those who have “stood by” the group. “Truth has prevailed,” he wrote, adding that “our humble contribution to India’s growth story will continue.”

Adani subsequently rocketed to become the richest person in Asia again, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index in January.

August 2024

Hindenburg released a new report accusing the chairman of India’s capital markets regulator of having conflicts of interest that prevented an in-depth investigation into allegations of fraud.

The report claimed that both SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband had previously held offshore funds which were also used by the Adani Group. Both denied the accusations, saying the report’s claims were baseless.

November 2024

Adani was indicted along with seven others in federal court in New York, accused of paying over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar power contracts that could generate over $2 billion in profits.

The 62-year-old self-made Indian billionaire expanded his empire through deals and the backing of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to Forbes. Modi has been accused by opposition leader Rahul Gandhi to assist the Adani Group in securing contracts in Sri Lanka, India and Australia.

Adani is now ranked 18th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.