US Indictment Fallout: Shares Of Adani Group, Exposed PSU Banks Decline; Congress Intensifies Attack, Reiterates JPC Demand

The indictment of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani in a multibillion-dollar bribery and fraud scheme in the United States has led to a sharp fall in share prices of all Adani Group companies.

Adani Enterprises by 21.07 per cent, followed by Adani Energy Solutions which plunged by 20 per cent. Adani Green Energy dropped by 17.51 per cent, Adani Power fell by 12.13 per cent, Adani Total Gas declined by 13.75 per cent, and Adani Ports saw a decrease of 19.17 per cent.

Not only this, shares of public sector banks tumbled by as much as 4.50 per cent amid concerns over their significant exposure to various Adani Group companies.

Shares of State Bank of India (SBI) fell by 3.65 per cent, Punjab National Bank (PNB) by 4.34 per cent, Bank of Baroda by 4.24 per cent, Canara Bank by 3.99 per cent, and Union Bank by 2.25 per cent.

Adani shares also dragged the benchmark Sensex down by 518 points to 77,060.29, while the NSE Nifty dropped by 182 points to 23,335.80 due to selling pressure at 11:30 am IST.

The Adani Group also canceled its $600 million bond offering on Thursday following a US indictment. In addition, dollar bond prices for Adani Group companies declined during morning trading in Asia.

Meanwhile, India's main opposition party Congress, which has been targeting the Adani group for some time, sharpened its attack and reiterated its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation into the various 'Modani scams.'

Congress also attacked Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its 'abject failure' to hold the Adani Group to account for the source of its investments, shell companies, etc.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh shared accusations that Adani Group paid over $250 million (Rs 2,100 crore) in bribes to Indian government officials between 2020 and 2024.

"The fact that it has taken a foreign jurisdiction to properly investigate Adani only shows how Indian institutions have been captured by the BJP and how decades of institutional development have been undone by greedy and power-hungry leaders," he added.

US authorities stated that Gautam Adani and seven other co-defendants, including his nephew Sagar Adani, allegedly agreed to pay around $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure contracts expected to yield $2 billion of profit over 20 years.