Adani Green halts bond offering after Gautam Adani charged in alleged bribery case in US

Adani Green Energy has decided not to proceed with its plan to raise $600 million through US dollar bonds after US prosecutors accused Gautam Adani and other board members of being involved in a $250 million bribery scheme.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) have both filed lawsuits in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. 

The SEC has filed a civil action against Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani, members of the Adani Group's Board, while the DOJ has issued a criminal indictment. Furthermore, the criminal charge also names another board member, Vneet Jaain.

In response to these legal proceedings, Adani Green's subsidiaries decided to temporarily halt the intended US dollar-denominated bond sales.

The US Attorney's office said the charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

"The United States Department of Justice and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission have issued a criminal indictment and brought a civil complaint, respectively, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, against our Board members, Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani. The United States Department of Justice have also included our Board member, Vneet Jaain, in such criminal indictment. In light of these developments, our subsidiaries have presently decided not to proceed with the proposed USD-denominated bond offerings," Adani Green said in an exchange filing dated 21 November.

The indictment also accuses the executive of obstructing investigations by the FBI, DOJ, and SEC.

The FBI New York's Corporate, Securities and Commodities Fraud and International Corruption Units conducted the investigation. The US government's case is being handled by the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Criminal Division's Fraud Section.

Adani Group stocks in free fall

In early trading on Thursday, 21 November, several Adani Group shares, including those of the flagship company Adani Enterprises, saw significant losses and fell to their lower circuits. Overall, ₹2 trillion was wiped off Adani Group's market capitalisation.

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