Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled in early trade on Thursday (November 21, 2024) amid sharp fall in Adani group stocks and unabated foreign fund outflows.

Weak trends from Asian peers also drove the markets lower during the initial trade. The BSE benchmark Sensex tumbled 468.17 points to 77,110.21 in early trade. The NSE Nifty declined 179.75 points to 23,338.75.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, Adani Ports tumbled 10% as billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged by U.S. prosecutors over his role in an alleged years-long scheme to pay $250 million bribe to Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms for solar power contracts.

Other Adani group stocks, including Adani Enterprises, Adani Green Energy and Adani Energy Solutions, also fell sharply in the early trade.

State Bank of India, IndusInd Bank, NTPC and Tata Motors were also among the laggards. Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services and Tech Mahindra were the gainers.

Also read: U.S. charges Gautam Adani with defrauding investors, hiding plan to bribe Indian officials

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,411.73 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong traded lower while Seoul quoted higher.

The U.S. markets ended mostly in the positive territory.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.25% to $72.99 a barrel. The Indian stock markets were closed on Wednesday due to assembly elections in Maharashtra.

Snapping its four days of decline, the BSE benchmark Sensex had climbed 239.37 points or 0.31% to settle at 77,578.38 on Tuesday. The Nifty also bounced back on Tuesday after falling in the past seven trading days. It went up by 64.70 points or 0.28% to settle at 23,518.50.

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani. File
| Photo Credit: AP

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged billionaire Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of the Adani Group, with allegedly defrauding American investors and bribing officials.

Mr. Adani (62) and his nephew Sagar Adani (30), executives of Adani Green Energy Limited, and Cyril Cabanes, an executive of Azure Power Global Limited, were charged on Wednesday (November 20, 2024) with conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud, as well as substantive securities fraud, for their roles in a multi-billion-dollar scheme to obtain funds from U.S. investors and global financial institutions through false and misleading statements.

The SEC alleged that the bribery scheme was orchestrated to enable renewable energy companies Adani Green and Azure Power to capitalise on a multi-billion-dollar solar energy project awarded by the Indian government.

The complaint charges them with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and seeks permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and officer and director bars.

“During the alleged scheme, Adani Green raised more than $175 million from U.S. investors, and Azure Power’s stock was traded on the New York Stock Exchange,” the SEC said in a statement.

Simultaneously, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York unsealed criminal charges against Mr.Adani and Sagar Adani, Cabanes, and others linked to Adani Green and Azure Power.

The federal indictment unsealed in a federal court in Brooklyn charges five others with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with the bribery scheme, involving one of the world’s largest solar energy projects.

Federal prosecutors claim that between 2020 and 2024, Mr. Adani and his associates paid over $250 million in bribes to obtain solar energy contracts worth more than USD 2 billion in projected profits after tax over an approximately 20-year period.

Mr. Adani and seven other executives are accused of bribing Indian government officials to secure lucrative contracts and defrauding investors by making false statements about bribery and corruption.

They also allegedly tried to obstruct investigations, according to FBI Assistant Director James Dennehy.

“This indictment alleges schemes to pay over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials, to lie to investors and banks to raise billions of dollars, and to obstruct justice,” stated Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa H. Miller.

“These offences were allegedly committed by senior executives and directors to obtain and finance massive state energy supply contracts through corruption and fraud at the expense of U.S. investors,” she added.

The Department of Justice alleged that on several occasions, Mr. Adani personally met with an Indian government official to advance the bribery scheme, and the defendants held in-person meetings with each other to discuss aspects of its execution.

“The defendants frequently discussed their efforts in furtherance of the Bribery Scheme, including through an electronic messaging application,” it alleged.