Adani Bonds Tumble After Founder Charged By U.S. For Bribery

Dollar-denominated notes issued by the Adani Group fell as much as 10 cents on the dollar after US prosecutors charged Gautam Adani, the group’s founder, with participating in an alleged bribery plot, Harry Suhartono reported for Bloomberg News.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Adani, one of the world’s richest individuals, and other defendants promised to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts. I Photo: Gautam Adani X

Adani Green Energy’s US dollar notes sold in March fell to record lows, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Adani Electricity Mumbai’s dollar notes, due in February 2030, dropped by 8.6 cents—their largest decline since a 2023 short-seller report by Hindenburg Research, which triggered a more than $150 billion rout in Adani Group stocks and a selloff in its debt.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Adani, one of the world’s richest individuals, and other defendants promised to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts, concealing the scheme while raising funds from US investors, Reuters and the Associated Press (AP) also reported.

The five-count indictment also accuses Gautam’s nephew, Sagar R. Adani, and Vneet S. Jaain, both executives at an Indian renewable energy company, of violating federal laws.

“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, said in a statement.

US law permits federal prosecutors to pursue foreign corruption cases if they involve certain links to American investors or markets, Patricia Hurtado and David Voreacos also reported for Bloomberg News.