Allegations against Adanis: Timing appears designed to spark debates in Parliament

By NS Venkataraman* 

It appears to be happening at regular intervals—one agency or another in the USA raises allegations against the Adani Group. Evidently, the Adani Group has become highly prominent in the global stock market and industrial arena due to its ability to identify project opportunities and execute them on strict schedules across various countries, successfully raising resources from investors worldwide. Some distant critics even speculate whether the Adani Group is overreaching or whether its ambitious investments and targets might lead to a bubble that could burst sooner or later.

The latest allegation from the USA claims that the Adani Group bribed government officials in India to secure licenses for solar projects.

A logical question arises: how can a U.S. court issue an arrest warrant against Adani for an alleged and unproven bribe purportedly offered in India? Does a U.S. court have universal jurisdiction? To justify the warrant, a strained argument has been presented that the Adani Group allegedly sought to raise funds from U.S. investors while concealing the so-called “bribe schemes.” However, this raises further questions—does such an allegation justify an arrest warrant, particularly when no evidence has been provided to substantiate the bribery claim? The Adani Group has dismissed these allegations as baseless. If no bribes were paid or intended to be paid, the question of concealing such actions from investors does not arise.

Can there be a more absurd justification for issuing an arrest warrant than suggesting Adani "promised" to offer bribes without clear evidence that the bribes were actually paid?

Previously, another U.S. agency, Hindenburg, made wild allegations against the Adani Group, accusing it of manipulating the global stock market. Subsequent investigations by Indian regulatory agencies found these allegations to be untrue and dismissed them.

Whenever such allegations are made from the U.S., the immediate result is a sharp crash in the value of Adani Group shares, severely damaging its reputation. However, it is consistently observed that the value of these shares rebounds quickly, often reaching or exceeding previous levels. This trend suggests that investor confidence in the Adani Group's capabilities and project commitments remains high, and these allegations are largely dismissed with contempt.

In India, such allegations inevitably provoke swift reactions from political parties and activists, many of whom demand that Adani be punished or even arrested. This raises concerns—why do these parties and activists react so quickly without conducting impartial investigations or studying the allegations in detail? Some critics even speculate whether these groups have prior knowledge of the allegations or arrest warrants.

Another noticeable pattern is that these allegations frequently surface just days before the start of a parliamentary session in India. This timing appears designed to spark debates in Parliament and generate extensive media coverage.

Despite these controversies, the Adani Group has emerged as one of India’s foremost multinational corporations, investing in and acquiring projects globally. It owns coal mines in Australia, acquired a majority stake in two Egyptian maritime companies—Transmar and TCI—in 2022, and is offering to develop renewable energy projects in Sri Lanka, among other ventures. Competing with multinational companies, the Adani Group has consistently won contracts and delivered projects efficiently.

Domestically, the group has also undertaken several major projects in India, often as the lowest bidder or in cases where other companies showed little interest. Many of these projects have been completed on time and operate at high efficiency, contrasting with delays and inefficiencies in projects by other companies.

The Adani Group’s substantial contributions to India’s industrial and infrastructure development deserve recognition and appreciation. The controversies surrounding some of its projects often seem rooted not in its practices but in baseless rumors floated by vested interests. To date, no allegations against the Adani Group have been conclusively proven in any court of law, either in India or abroad. For instance, the controversy surrounding the group’s renewable energy project in Sri Lanka appears to stem from political and procedural considerations rather than technical or commercial deficiencies.

A point of concern is the tendency of some political parties and activists in India to link the Adani Group to the Modi government whenever allegations arise, seemingly to tarnish the government’s image and gain political mileage through baseless propaganda.

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*Trustee, Nandini Voice for the Deprived, Chennai