Gautam Adani, a prominent Indian billionaire, was present at the 51st Gems and Jewellery Awards held in Jaipur, India, on November 30, 2024.
Photo Credit: Stringer | Reuters
On Friday, shares of Adani Group companies experienced a significant decline, dropping between 5% and 13%. This downturn came after court documents revealed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is preparing to issue summons to Adani Group’s founder, Gautam Adani, and his nephew, Sagar Adani, over alleged bribery and fraud charges.
Gautam Adani, who leads the Adani Group and ranks among the wealthiest individuals globally, was charged alongside seven other men in a New York federal court in November 2024. The charges pertain to an extensive scheme involving bribery and fraud.
The SEC has petitioned U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in Brooklyn for authorization to serve a legal summons to Gautam Adani, the Chairman of Adani Group, and Sagar Adani, the Executive Director of Adani Green Energy. Requests for comments have been made to both the Adani Group and the U.S. SEC by CNBC.
Adani Green Energy’s stock saw a sharp decline, closing nearly 14% lower. Meanwhile, shares of the group’s flagship entity, Adani Enterprises, fell by 10.7% by the end of Friday’s trading session. In addition, Adani Power’s shares decreased by 5.7%.
The Adani Group executives are charged with misleading U.S. 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 fund those energy contracts.
India’s Ministry of Law and Justice has twice refused last year to deliver the summons to Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani under the Hague Convention, the SEC told the court. “The Ministry appeared to suggest that the SEC lacks authority to invoke the Hague Convention or seek service of the Summonses,” it said.
Adani and several other defendants are accused of having paid Indian government officials more than $250 million in bribes to obtain solar energy supply contracts worth more than $2 billion in profits.
