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02-12-2024
Bureau Report + Agencies
NEW DELHI: Adani Group founder Gautam Adani responded for the first time on Saturday to allegations by US authorities that he was part of a $265 million bribery scheme, saying that his ports-to-power conglomerate was committed to world class regulatory compliance.
The indictment is the second major crisis to hit Adani in just two years, sending shockwaves across India and beyond. One Indian state is reviewing a power deal with the group, France’s TotalEnergies, opens new tab decided to pause its investments and political rows over Adani have disrupted India’s parliament.
“Less than two weeks back, we faced a set of allegations from the U.S. about compliance practices at Adani Green Energy. This is not the first time we have faced such challenges,” Adani said in a speech at an awards ceremony.
US authorities have accused Gautam Adani, his nephew and executive director Sagar Adani and managing director of Adani Green, opens new tab, Vneet S. Jaain, of being part of a scheme to pay bribes to secure Indian power supply contracts, and misleading US investors during fundraisings in the country.
Adani Group has denied the allegations, describing them as “baseless” and vowing to seek “all possible legal recourse”.
“What I can tell you is that every attack makes us stronger and every obstacle becomes a stepping stone for a more resilient Adani Group,” Adani said in the northern Indian city of Jaipur.
“In today’s world, negativity spreads faster than facts, and as we work through the legal process, I want to re-confirm our absolute commitment to world class regulatory compliance,” he added, without giving further details.
Adani Group’s finance chief on Friday rejected the allegations, while the Indian government said it had not received any US request regarding the case.
At one point, Adani Group’s listed companies saw as much as $34 billion wiped off their combined market value, but the stocks have recovered ground as some partners and investors have rallied behind the conglomerate.
The finance chief of India’s Adani Group on Friday rejected US allegations that executives, including Chairman Gautam Adani, were part of a $265 million bribery scheme, while the Indian government said it has not received any US request on the case.
“We reject all of this strongly on behalf of the individuals,” Adani Group CFO Jugeshinder Singh told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Mumbai.
“We know for sure, 100% that nothing of this sort happened. If we were paying that amount of cash to someone I would certainly know, so we know nothing happened,” Singh said.
The ports-to-power conglomerate has previously denied the charges, made earlier this month, as “baseless” and vowed to seek “all possible legal recourse”.
Singh said that the group would not be taking any action on the US indictment, but that the accused individuals would clarify on the allegations over the next 10 days after seeking legal advice. Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment on the CFO’s statement.
Singh also sought to allay concerns about any impact from the allegations to the group’s expansion plans. “No planned acquisition will be on hold… nothing will impact our investment plans in logistics and energy,” he said.
India’s foreign ministry, in the country’s first official reaction to Adani’s indictment, said on Friday that bribery allegations against the billionaire was a legal issue between private companies and the US Department of Justice and that New Delhi has not received any request on the case from Washington.
