Indian billionaire Adani charged in US with bribery; Adani Group shares tumble (updated)

GQG Partners

21/11/2024 05:01

(This is a repeat of an item issued on Thursday)

        * 
      Adani and nephew charged for roles in $265 mln bribery
scheme
    

        * 
      Shares in Adani Group firms tumble 10% to 20% 
    

        * 
      Adani Green Energy bond deal pulled, bond prices fall 
    

  
       Nov 21 (Reuters) - Gautam Adani, the billionaire chair
of Indian conglomerate Adani Group and one of the world's
richest people, has been indicted in New York over his role in a
$265 million bribery scheme, according to U.S. prosecutors.
        U.S authorities said Adani and seven other defendants,
including his nephew Sagar Adani, agreed to pay the bribes to
Indian government officials to obtain contracts expected to
yield $2 billion of profit over 20 years, and develop India's
largest solar power plant project.
    A judge has issued arrest warrants for Gautam Adani and
Sagar Adani and prosecutors plan to hand those warrants to
foreign law enforcement, court records show.
        Prosecutors also said the Adanis and another executive
at Adani Green Energy  ADNA.NS , former CEO Vneet Jaain, raised
more than $3 billion in loans and bonds by hiding their
corruption from lenders and investors.
    Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Jaain were charged with
securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud
conspiracy, and the Adanis were also charged in a U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission civil case.
    Fallout for the Adani empire, which was rocked by a
short-seller attack in February 2023, was immediate with shares
in conglomerate's listed companies stocks tumbling between 10%
and 20%. 
    Adani Green Energy  ADNA.NS  also cancelled plans on
Thursday to raise $600 million in U.S. dollar-denominated bonds.
 The bond had been priced but was pulled following the news.
    Adani dollar bonds slumped in Asian trading, with prices
down between 3-5c on bonds for Adani Ports and Special Economic
Zone  US00652MAJ18=TE . The falls were the largest since the
Adani Group came under a short-seller attack in February 2023.
    According to an indictment, some conspirators referred
privately to Gautam Adani with the code names "Numero uno" and
"the big man," while Sagar Adani allegedly used his cellphone to
track specifics about the bribes.
    The Adani Group has not responded to requests for comment.
    Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Jaain were charged with
securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud
conspiracy, and the Adanis were also charged in a U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission civil case.
    Five other defendants were charged with conspiring to
violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a U.S. anti-bribery
law, and four were charged with conspiring to obstruct justice.
    None of the defendants is in custody, a spokesperson for
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace in Brooklyn said. Gautam Adani is
believed to be in India.
    Shares in GQG Partners  GQG.AX , an Australia-listed
investment firm that is a major Adani backer, slid 20%. The
decline was the stock's largest one-day fall since it listed
three years ago.
    GQG last year bought 3.4% of Adani Enterprises  ADEL.NS  -
the group's flagship firm, 4.1% of Adani Ports and Special
Economic Zone  APSE.NS , 2.5% of Adani Transmission and 3.5% of
Adani Green Energy. It said in a statement that it was
monitoring the charges.
        Gautam Adani, 62, is worth $69.8 billion according to
Forbes magazine. He is one of the few billionaires formally
accused in the United States of criminal wrongdoing.
    
    

 (Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Sumeet Chatterjee;
Additional reporting by Tom Westbrook; Yantoultra Ngui and Byron
Kaye; Writing by Scott Murdoch; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
 ((Scott.Murdoch@thomsonreuters.com;))