Adani Group stocks plunge up to 20% after Gautam Adani’s indictment in US on bribery and fraud charges

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against Gautam Adani. Adani stocks today: Share prices of Adani Group companies crashed sharply by up to 20% on Thursday following charges against Gautam Adani and seven others in the United States regarding a multibillion-dollar bribery and fraud scheme. The US authorities revealed on Wednesday that the group allegedly bribed Indian officials for securing solar energy contracts.Adani Energy Solutions experienced the steepest decline with a 20% drop. Adani Green witnessed an 18% decrease, whilst other group companies including Adani Enterprises, Ambuja Cements, ACC, Adani Ports, NDTV, Adani Power and Adani Total Gas recorded declines of at least 10%.On Wednesday, Adani disclosed a green energy investment. The disclosure coincided with the company chairman’s congratulatory message to US President-elect Donald Trump. “Adani announced the investment while also congratulating U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on his election win,” according to Reuters.Trump’s administration has pledged to reduce regulations for energy companies, facilitating drilling operations on federal land and pipeline construction.Details of US Indictment Against Gautam AdaniThe US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against Gautam Adani for allegedly “defrauding American investors and bribing officials”. The charges extend to his nephew Sagar Adani, 30, Adani Green Energy executives, and Cyril Cabanes from Azure Power Global Ltd for “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 US investors and global financial institutions through false and misleading statements”.According to the indictment, Adani and associates paid approximately $265 million in bribes, anticipating $2 billion in profits over twenty years. Prosecutors indicate that participants used code names such as “Numero uno” and “the big man” when referring to Gautam Adani.