Adani News: Adani Group shares fall up to 20% after Gautam Adani’s US bribery and fraud charges | India Business News

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against Gautam Adani.

Adani stock today: Share prices of Adani Group companies plunged sharply by up to 20% on Thursday following charges against Gautam Adani and seven others in the US in a multibillion-dollar bribery and fraud scheme. US authorities revealed on Wednesday that the group allegedly bribed Indian officials to secure solar power contracts. Adani shares are experiencing their worst rout since the Hindenburg incident in early 2023.
Flagship company Adani Enterprises saw a sharp drop of 20% in its share value, while Adani Energy Solutions experienced an identical decline. Adani Green Energy saw a reduction of 19.17%, Adani Total Gas fell by 18.14%, Adani Power fell by 17.79% and Adani Ports registered a fall of 15% on the BSE.
In addition, Ambuja Cements registered a significant fall of 14.99% while ACC shares fell by 14.54%. NDTV shares fell 14.37% and Adani Wilmar observed a 10% fall in value.
Several companies in the group reached their daily lower circuit limits during the trading session.
Following the 20% fall in three Adani Group stocks this morning, the total market capitalization of all 11 Adani stocks fell by approximately Rs 2.25 lakh crore to Rs 12 lakh crore.
Gautam Adani’s wealth saw a significant reduction of $10.5 billion, falling to $59.3 billion, as reported by Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List.
On Thursday, Moody’s Ratings indicated that this development negatively affects the creditworthiness of Adani Group companies.
Moody’s stated: “The indictment of the Adani Group chairman and other senior officials on bribery charges is credit negative for the group companies. Our main focus in rating the Adani Group is on the ability of the group companies to access capital to meet their liquidity requirements and on its management practices.”
Meanwhile, GQG shares, a major investor in the Adani Group following the Hindenburg situation, saw a 26% drop on the Australian stock exchange.
Read also: Gautam Adani indicted by US for alleged $250 million bribe
On Wednesday, Adani revealed an investment in green energy. The disclosure coincided with the company chairman’s congratulatory message to US President Donald Trump. “Adani announced the investment while also congratulating US President-elect Donald Trump on his election victory,” according to Reuters.
Trump’s administration has promised to reduce regulations on energy companies and ease drilling operations on federal land and pipeline construction.
Adani Green Energy on Thursday withdrew its proposal to raise $600 million through US dollar-denominated bonds. Despite the initial pricing, the bond offering was withdrawn following recent developments.
In Asian trading sessions, Adani dollar bonds saw significant declines, with Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone bonds falling 3-5 cents. Those declines marked the steepest decline since the organization faced short-selling allegations in February 2023.

Details of US indictment against Gautam Adani

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against Gautam Adani for allegedly “defrauding US investors and bribing government officials”.
The charges extend to his nephew Sagar Adani, 30, Adani Green Energy executives and Cyril Cabanes of Azure Power Global Ltd for “conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud, as well as substantial securities fraud, for their roles in a multi-billion- dollar scheme to obtain funds from US investors and global financial institutions through false and misleading statements”.
According to the indictment, Adani and associates paid approximately $265 million in bribes, expecting $2 billion in profits over twenty years.
Read also: Congress reacts to US bribery charges against Adani
Prosecutors state that participants used code names such as “Numero uno” and “the big man” when referring to Gautam Adani.
Court records reveal that arrest warrants have been issued for Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani, with prosecutors intending to forward those warrants to international law enforcement agencies.
According to prosecutors, Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and former Adani Green Energy CEO Vneet Jaain secured over $3 billion in loans and bonds by concealing fraudulent activities from their financial partners and investors.
The charges against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Jaain include securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy. In addition, Adanis faces a civil lawsuit filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.