A statement on Wednesday said Adani officials are “only charged” with securities fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and securities fraud.
| Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI

The Adani Group conglomerate said Wednesday (November 27, 2024) it had suffered a staggering loss of nearly $55 billion since U.S. corruption charges against top officials, accusations the company denies.

“Since the intimation of the U.S. DoJ (Department of Justice) indictment, the group has suffered a loss of near $55 billion in its market capitalisation across its 11 listed companies,” it said in a statement.

The November 20 bombshell indictment in New York accused billionaire industrialist founder Gautam Adani and multiple subordinates of deliberately misleading international investors as part of the bribery scheme.

It said they had “devised a scheme to offer, authorise, make and promise to make bribes payments to Indian government officials”.

Adani Group issued a stiff denial, describing the charges as “baseless”.

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A statement on Wednesday said Adani officials are “only charged” with securities fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and securities fraud.

Adani was at one point the world’s second-richest man.

The group said the action had led to “significant repercussions”, including “international project cancellations, financial market impact and sudden examination from strategic partners, investors and the public”.

With a business empire spanning coal, airports, cement and media, Adani Group has weathered previous corporate fraud allegations and suffered a similar stock crash last year.

The conglomerate saw $150 billion wiped from its market value in 2023 after a report by short-seller Hindenburg Research accused it of “brazen” corporate fraud.

Denying Hindenburg’s allegations, Adani called its report a “deliberate attempt” to damage its image for the benefit of short-sellers.

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| Photo Credit: Reuters

Adani Enterprises Ltd. gained 2.24% to ₹2,697.70 on the BSE on August 22 after the promoter group increased its stake in the Adani Group holding company by 2.22%. Earlier, the stock rose to as much as ₹2,720.65, up 3.10%, in intraday trade.

On the NSE, the stock added 2.09% to ₹2,694.90. A total of 1,02,91,468 shares were traded on the NSE on Tuesday as per stock exchange data.

Adani Enterprises had on Monday informed the exchanges that the promoter group company Kempas Trade & Investment Ltd. had acquired 2,53,00,000 shares, amounting to 2.22% voting capital of the company, from the open market.

With this purchase, the promoter group’s holding in Adani Enterprises has increased to 69.87%, from 67.65%, as per a regulatory filing.

The shares were purchased between August 7, 2023, and August 18, 2023. 

The Adani Enterprises’ stock has recovered ground from a 52-week low of ₹1,017.10 hit on February 3 in the wake of a controversial report by U.S. based short seller Hindenburg Research alleging accounting irregularities and share-price manipulation at the Gautam Adani led conglomerate, charges the Adani Group has denied as ‘baseless’.

The promoter group’s stake increase comes at a time when the U.S.-based boutique investment advisory firm GQG Partners has been buying shares in the Adani Group’s companies.