Adani group stocks surge up to 20% after clarification on US charges

Shares of Adani Group companies witnessed strong buying on Wednesday, rising up to 20% after the conglomerate refuted bribery and corruption charges against its chairman Gautam Adani and other executives under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Boosted by the development, all 11 listed Adani group entities closed in green today, with the cumulative market capitalisation climbing by ₹1.2 lakh crore to ₹12.6 lakh crore. Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex and Nifty closed 0.3% higher.

The top gainers among Adani group stocks were Adani Power and Adani Total Gas, which were locked in their 20% upper circuit limits. The Group flagship Adani Enterprises ended 11.6% higher, while Adani Energy Solutions and Adani Green Energy hit their 10% upper circuit limits.

Among others, ACC, Adani Ports, Adani Wilmar, Ambuja Cement, NDTV and Sanghi Industries gained in the range of 4-8%.

This was one of the biggest rally in Adani group stocks in the recent past as investors rushed to buy beaten down stocks following the clarification on the alleged U.S. bribery charge.

Adani Green Energy saw the first rise in its stock price since a criminal indictment and a civil case against Agani Group chairman Gautam Adani and others in the U.S. In a fresh clarification to exchanges, the renewable energy arm of the conglomerate said that the charges against its three directors, including the chairman, related to three counts of "criminal indictment" but 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.