No 'bribery' charges against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, Vneet Jaain: Adani Group

Adani Green Energy Ltd has issued a fresh clarification on a criminal indictment and a civil case against Agani Group chairman Gautam Adani and others in the U.S., saying the charges against its three directors, including the chairman, related to three counts of "criminal indictment" but not the "alleged FCPA violations".

The United States Department of Justice (US DOJ) and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) have issued a "criminal indictment" and brought a civil complaint, respectively, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York against Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani. The US DOJ also included Adani Green director Vneet Jaain in the criminal indictment.

Reacting to various media reports on the matter, especially about the alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violation in the indictment, the Adani group says such statements are "incorrect". "Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain have not been charged with any violation of the FCPA in the counts set forth in the indictment of the US DOJ or civil complaint of the US SEC."

The company clarified that these directors have been charged with three counts in the criminal indictment: alleged securities fraud conspiracy, alleged wire fraud conspiracy, and alleged securities fraud.

Separately, after French energy giant TotalEnergies said it would not make any new financial contribution as part of its investments in Adani entities until the accusations are clarified, Adani Green Energy clarified that there is no new financial commitment under discussion with TotalEnergies. "Hence, the Press Release (of TotalEnergies) will not have any material impact on the company’s operations or growth plan," the company said.

Moody's Ratings, meanwhile, has downgraded the outlook on all seven issuers from "stable" to "negative". Moody's says the change in the outlook on the seven Adani entities to "negative" comes amid the indictment case on alleged bribery and other charges, and that it will likely "weaken" Adani Group's access to funding and increase its capital costs.

The rating action further recognises the possibility of broader weaknesses in the governance structure across the rated Adani group entities and potential operational disruptions, including on their capital spending plans, while legal proceedings are going, says Moody's.

Before that, global ratings agency Fitch also put a few Adani group bonds on ratings watch. Fitch Ratings placed Adani Energy Solutions' (AESL) long-term foreign-and-local-currency issuer default ratings of 'BBB-' and the 'BBB-' ratings on Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd's (AEML) senior secured notes on rating watch negative (RWN).

Adani Green Energy Ltd shares are trading 0.23% up at ₹901.45 on the BSE today, with its m-cap at ₹1,42,792.44 crore.