By Vineet Kumar 
Adani Group Stocks Plummet Amid US Bribery Allegations
Adani Group stocks nosedived on November 21, with losses of up to 20% in the wake of serious allegations against founder Gautam Adani. US federal prosecutors have charged Adani and key associates, including Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain, with orchestrating a $250 million (~₹2,100 crore) bribery scheme to win solar energy contracts in India.
The indictment, filed in Brooklyn, New York, accuses them of making false statements to US investors, violating federal laws, and obstructing justice by deleting electronic evidence and misleading agencies like the Justice Department, SEC, and FBI. To add to their woes, the SEC has filed a separate civil lawsuit, amplifying the pressure on the group.
Stock Market Carnage
The allegations sparked panic among investors, with key stocks of the Adani Group hitting their lower circuits in early trade.
Adani Enterprises plunged 10%, closing at ₹2,539.35, wiping out recent gains. Though the stock has bounced back from its post-Hindenburg lows, it remains far from reclaiming previous highs.
Adani Green Energy fell a staggering 17% to ₹1,172.50, while
Adani Energy Solutions was hit hardest, tumbling 20% to ₹697.25.
It’s déjà vu for the group, which suffered a similar market meltdown in early 2023 after the infamous Hindenburg Research report accused it of fraud and stock manipulation, erasing over ₹12 lakh crore in combined value.
International Securities Take a Hit
The fallout wasn’t limited to Indian markets. Adani’s dollar-denominated bonds also took a beating. For example:
Bonds issued by Adani Green Energy in March dropped 15 cents—marking a record low.
Bonds from Adani Electricity Mumbai, due in 2030, sank 8.6 cents on the dollar.
These steep declines are the worst since the Hindenburg revelations and signal a serious erosion of investor confidence globally.
Debt Troubles and Fresh Fundraising Efforts
The timing couldn’t be worse for the Adani Group, which has been working hard to clean up its balance sheet. Earlier this year, the group prepaid ₹7,374 crore in share-backed loans, vowing to eliminate all such debt by March 2023. It has also been actively raising funds:
August 2024: Adani Energy Solutions launched a $1 billion Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) to reduce debt and boost power infrastructure.
October 2024: Adani Enterprises raised $500 million through a share sale to fund new energy projects, set up a PVC plant, and reduce debt in its airport business.
2025 Plans: The group aims to raise $1.5 billion through dollar bonds under Adani Green Energy and Adani Energy Solutions to refinance existing debt.
These efforts, however, now face a credibility crisis. Even a slight whiff of wrongdoing can spook investors—and a full-blown bribery scandal is far from “slight.”
The Bigger Picture
For the Adani Group, this is more than just a financial setback. It’s a reputational crisis on a global scale. Investors are already wary after the Hindenburg saga, and this fresh controversy could undermine years of effort to rebuild trust.
The situation highlights a harsh reality in the corporate world: trust, once broken, is hard to restore. For the Adani Group, the stakes are higher than ever, and how they navigate this storm will determine their future trajectory.
