By Arpan Chaturvedi
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Adani Group founder Gautam Adani on Saturday responded for the first time to allegations by U.S. authorities that he was part of a $265 million bribery scheme, saying his ports-to-power conglomerate was committed to world-class compliance.
The indictment is the second major crisis to hit Adani in just two years, sending shockwaves across India and beyond. An Indian state is reviewing a power contract with the group, France’s TotalEnergies has decided to pause its investments, and political infighting over Adani has disrupted the work of India’s parliament.
“Less than two weeks ago, we faced a series 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 speech at the awards ceremony.
US authorities have accused Gautam Adani, his nephew and CEO Sagar Adani and Adani Green CEO Vneet S. Jaain of being part of a scheme to pay bribes to secure Indian power supply contracts and of misleading US investors during fundraising in country.
Adani Group denied the allegations, describing them as “baseless” and vowing to seek “all possible legal remedies”.
“What I can tell you is that every attack makes us stronger and every setback becomes a springboard 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 reaffirm our absolute commitment to world-class regulatory compliance,” he added, without elaborating.
Adani Group’s finance chief on Friday denied the allegations, while the Indian government said it had not received any US request in the case.
At one point, Adani Group’s publicly traded companies saw as much as $34 billion wiped off their overall market value, but the stock recovered as some partners and investors rallied behind the conglomerate.
(Reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi; Editing by Alexander Smith)
