Adani Shock Rattles ESG Fund Managers For "Terrible" Bet

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) fund managers are grappling with another high-profile misstep after Adani Green Energy Ltd. lost about 25% of its value following bribery charges against Gautam Adani, reported Ishika Mookerjee and Sheryl Tian Tong Lee for Bloomberg News.

India’s capital markets regulator is now investigating whether Adani violated disclosure rules regarding market-sensitive information. I Photo: Adani Green Energy Limited

Around 770 ESG funds globally held shares in Adani Green, which now faces scrutiny after U.S. prosecutors accused Adani and his associates of offering $250 million in bribes to Indian officials for solar energy contracts.

Adani Group has denied the allegations, but the indictment has already wiped $27 billion off the conglomerate’s market value, with investors increasingly alarmed by the company’s governance record.

“Adani Green’s terrible governance was in plain view,” said Henry Kinnersley, co-founder of Snowcap Research, an activist firm that had previously flagged inconsistencies in Adani’s renewable energy claims.

This crisis comes nearly two years after Hindenburg Research alleged systemic fraud and market manipulation across the Adani Group. India’s capital markets regulator is now investigating whether Adani violated disclosure rules regarding market-sensitive information.