Combined m-cap of Adani group stocks erodes by Rs 2.45 lakh cr post-US bribery charges

Mumbai: Hours after news broke of the bribery charges against Asia's second richest man, Gautam Adani, the group stocks faced heavy drubbing during the morning trade on Thursday. The combined market valuation of all the listed firms got eroded by Rs 2.45 lakh crore.

US prosecutors charged Adani 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.

The stock of the group's flagship firm Adani Enterprises plunged 20.36 per cent in NSE (19.54 per cent on BSE), Adani Ports dived 17 per cent (17.40), Adani Energy Solutions tanked 20 per cent (20%), Adani Green Energy plummeted 18.42 per cent (17.98%) and Adani Total Gas tumbled 12.57 per cent on the NSE (12.40%) by noon.

Shares of Adani Power slumped 11.69 per cent (11.32%), Ambuja Cements cracked 11,.28 per cent on the NSE(11.44% on the BSE), ACC fell 7.95 per cent (7.57%), NDTV dropped 7.46 per cent (7.76%) and Adani Wilmar declined 10 per cent (10%) on the bourses by noon.

Some of the group firms also hit their lowest trading permissible limit for the day. The combined market capitalisation (mcap) of all the ten listed group firms eroded by Rs 2,45,016.51 crore during the morning deals.

In the equity market, the BSE benchmark Sensex traded 426.20 points lower at 77,152.18 and the NSE Nifty quoted 165 points down at 23,355.05 by noon.

US prosecutors charged Adani, 62, his nephew Sagar and other defendants for paying over $250 million in bribes between 2020 and 2024 to Indian government officials to win solar energy contracts on terms that could potentially bring in more than $2 billion in profit.

They alleged that this was concealed from the US banks and investors from whom the Adani group raised billions of dollars for the project.

US law allows the pursuit of foreign corruption allegations if they involve certain links to American investors or markets.

The Adani group did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

"The defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars," Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, which brought the case, said in a statement.

Adani, chairman of the ports-to-energy Adani Group, his nephew Sagar R Adani, executive director at the conglomerate's renewable energy arm Adani Green Energy Ltd, and its former CEO Vneet Jaain were charged with securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, and wire fraud conspiracy.

The Adanis were also charged in a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) civil case.