Gautam Adani breaks silence on US indictment to say his group is committed to compliance
November 30, 2024
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 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 US about compliance practices at Adani Green Energy. This is not the first time we have faced such challenges,” Adani said in a live-streamed speech at an awards ceremony.
“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.
Adani Group has denied the US allegations, describing them as “baseless” and vowing to seek “all possible legal recourse”.
“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,” Adani said in his speech, without giving further details.
Adani Group’s finance chief on Friday rejected the allegations, while the Indian government said it has 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.
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 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 US about compliance practices at Adani Green Energy. This is not the first time we have faced such challenges,” Adani said in a live-streamed speech at an awards ceremony.
“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.
Adani Group has denied the US allegations, describing them as “baseless” and vowing to seek “all possible legal recourse”.
“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,” Adani said in his speech, without giving further details.
Adani Group’s finance chief on Friday rejected the allegations, while the Indian government said it has 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.
Fitch Prepares to Downgrade Adani Bonds Amid Bribery Scandal
By Irina Slav - Nov 26, 2024
Fitch Ratings has put some of Adani Group’s bonds on watch in preparation for a potential downgrade amid a bribery scandal that shook one of India’s largest industrial conglomerates.
Last week, U.S. prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission launched probes into the company on allegations Gautam Adani’s renewable energy arm had been giving bribes to local Indian government officials to secure solar power purchase contracts.
“As alleged, the defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars and Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani, and Vneet S. Jaain lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from U.S. and international investors,” stated Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Since then, Kenya has canceled deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars with Adani’s companies and TotalEnergies has suspended any new investments in joint energy projects with Adani Group.
Now, Fitch is downgrading the company’s debt. Indeed, the ratings on senior unsecured dollar bonds issued by four Adani subsidiaries were downgraded to negative from stable because of the U.S. indictment, Reuters reported today.
The Fitch move follows a similar one by S&P Global Ratings, which on Friday downgraded three Adani Group companies, flipping its outlook for them to negative from stable.
According to the allegations made against the Indian billionaire, his nephew and several others, they had spent $265 million on bribes for local government officials to secure commitments for purchasing solar power from Adani Green Energy. The commitments would have generated estimated profits of about $2 billion over the next two decades.
Further allegations said that Adani and the rest of the group secured some $3 billion in funding from investors and bondholders for the advancement of their solar power plans without disclosing the bribery scheme.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
Fitch Ratings has put some of Adani Group’s bonds on watch in preparation for a potential downgrade amid a bribery scandal that shook one of India’s largest industrial conglomerates.
Last week, U.S. prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission launched probes into the company on allegations Gautam Adani’s renewable energy arm had been giving bribes to local Indian government officials to secure solar power purchase contracts.
“As alleged, the defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars and Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani, and Vneet S. Jaain lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from U.S. and international investors,” stated Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Since then, Kenya has canceled deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars with Adani’s companies and TotalEnergies has suspended any new investments in joint energy projects with Adani Group.
Now, Fitch is downgrading the company’s debt. Indeed, the ratings on senior unsecured dollar bonds issued by four Adani subsidiaries were downgraded to negative from stable because of the U.S. indictment, Reuters reported today.
The Fitch move follows a similar one by S&P Global Ratings, which on Friday downgraded three Adani Group companies, flipping its outlook for them to negative from stable.
According to the allegations made against the Indian billionaire, his nephew and several others, they had spent $265 million on bribes for local government officials to secure commitments for purchasing solar power from Adani Green Energy. The commitments would have generated estimated profits of about $2 billion over the next two decades.
Further allegations said that Adani and the rest of the group secured some $3 billion in funding from investors and bondholders for the advancement of their solar power plans without disclosing the bribery scheme.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
No comments:
Post a Comment