The finance chief of India’s Adani Group, Jugeshinder Singh, rejected allegations that company executives, including Chairman Gautam Adani, were part of a $265 million bribery scheme. The U.S. Department of Justice had accused Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and Adani Green managing director Vneet S. Jaain of paying bribes to secure Indian solar power supply contracts.
Singh stated that the company rejected the allegations “strongly” and that there was “nothing of this sort happened”. He also stated that the group would not take any action on the U.S. indictment and that the accused individuals would clarify on the allegations over the next 10 days after seeking legal advice.
The Indian government also rejected the allegations, saying it had not received any U.S. request on the case. The foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the bribery allegations against Adani were a legal issue between private companies and the U.S. Department of Justice and that the Indian government had not been informed in advance about the indictment.
The Adani Group has lost around $7 billion in value following the allegations, but has received public backing from Israel and the Abu Dhabi’s International Holding, its key foreign investor. The U.S. indictment has also had major ripple effects, with at least one Indian state reviewing its power deal with Adani, the Indian parliament disrupted amid political uproar, and TotalEnergies deciding to not make any more investments in the group.
The Adani Group has planned to delay a $600 million bond issue and repay roughly $3 billion in debt due over the next 12 months mainly through rupee borrowings.