Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Business

Defiant Adani says committed to compliance after US indictment

India's Adani conglomerate has taken a massive hit in the stock market since short-seller US investment group Hindenburg Research accused it of accounting fraud
India's Adani conglomerate has taken a massive hit in the stock market since short-seller US investment group Hindenburg Research accused it of accounting fraud - Copyright AFP Yuichi YAMAZAKI
India's Adani conglomerate has taken a massive hit in the stock market since short-seller US investment group Hindenburg Research accused it of accounting fraud - Copyright AFP Yuichi YAMAZAKI

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani on Saturday said “attacks” on his company made it “stronger”, days after US prosecutors accused him and other officials of fraud.

The November 20 bombshell indictment in New York accused the industrialist and multiple subordinates of deliberately misleading international investors as part of a multi-million-dollar bribery scheme. 

Addressing the allegations for the first time, the 62-year-old tycoon said his conglomerate was committed to “world-class regulatory compliance”. 

“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,” he said at an awards ceremony in the northern Indian city of Jaipur.  

Adani is suspected of having participated in a $250 million scheme to bribe Indian officials for lucrative solar energy supply contracts.

The billionaire, however, said nobody from his company had been charged with any violation of corruption laws or “any conspiracy to obstruct justice”. 

The US Justice Department said Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and one other official were charged “with conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud and substantive securities fraud”. 

Five others were charged “with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” the department said.

On Thursday, Adani’s company said it had suffered a loss of nearly $55 billion in market capitalisation across its 11 listed companies since the US indictment was filed. 

With a business empire spanning coal, airports, cement and media, Adani Group has weathered previous corporate fraud allegations, suffering a similar stock rout last year.

The conglomerate saw $150 billion wiped from its market value in 2023 after a report by short-seller Hindenburg Research accused it of “brazen” corporate fraud.

Adani is a close ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was at one point the world’s second-richest man, and critics have long accused him of improperly benefitting from their relationship.

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

You may also like:

Tech & Science

Nicole Janssen knows a thing or two about navigating fear of artificial intelligence

Life

Trump, who began his second term last month, has launched a crusade led by his top donor and world's richest man Elon Musk.

Tech & Science

How to detect an AI impersonation scam, and how to stay safe.

World

The word “incompetence” can do only so much.