India’s Adani Group saw shares of its companies plunge Thursday after its billionaire chairman Gautam Adani was indicted in a New York federal court over his alleged involvement in an extensive bribery and fraud operation.
The 62-year-old billionaire and the seven other defendants have been accused of paying over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts that could generate more than $2 billion in profits.
The Indian group’s flagship firm Adani Enterprises fell 10%, while the company in the eye of the storm Adani Green Energy tanked 17.28%. Adani Energy fell 20%.
Adani Power lost 13.81%, Adani Port’s share price dropped 10%, while the group’s retail arm Adani Wilmar shed 7.87%.
The benchmark NSE Nifty 50 Index slid 0.63% in its first hour of trade.
Adani, along with two executives from Adani Green Energy Limited — his nephew Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain — have been charged with misleading U.S. and international investors about the company’s adherence to antibribery and anticorruption standards while raising over $3 billion to finance energy projects.