Adani Ports, Adani Power Bounce Back As Group Denies US Bribery Charges

Stocks of Adani Group companies recouped some of the losses they faced after it rejected "baseless" allegations made by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the $250 million bribery scheme.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. recovered to trade 12.5% lower after falling as much as 23% during the day while NDTV Ltd. and its cement arm ACC Ltd. recovered to trade 3.7% and 7.2% lower as of 2:50 p.m. This compares to a 0.78% decline in the benchmark NSE Nifty 50.

Adani Power Ltd. and Adani Total Ltd. gained 11% and 9.8% respectively, from the day's low after the conglomerate described the charges as "baseless" and categorically denied any wrongdoing.

In response to the charges brought against Adani Green Energy and its directors, the conglomerate issued a statement emphasising that, as per the DOJ’s own statements, "the charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty."

Adani Wilmar Ltd. and Adani Energy Ltd. remained locked in the lower circuit of 10% and 20% respectively. Flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd. and Adani Green Ltd. gained 2.5% and 3% from the day's low levels.

The overall group market capitalisation of the conglomerate fell as much as Rs 2.77 lakh crore which later pared losses to trade at a loss of 2.04 lakh crore.

"The Adani Group has always upheld and is steadfastly committed to maintaining the highest standards of governance, transparency and regulatory compliance across all jurisdictions of its operations. We assure our stakeholders, partners and employees that we are a law-abiding organisation, fully compliant with all laws," the company statement read.

The allegations, which include charges of corruption and bribery related to the development of Adani’s solar power projects in India, were made public as part of an indictment filed by the US Department of Justice and a civil complaint by the SEC.

The group further assured stakeholders that it would pursue all available legal recourse to address these accusations.