India's Andhra Pradesh mulls next steps on Adani, if power deal can be scrapped
By Rishika Sadam
HYDERABAD, Nov 26 (Reuters) -India's Andhra Pradesh state is reviewing government files and will explore if it is possible to cancel a power supply contract linked to the Adani Group, whose billionaire founder has been indicted in the United States, a top official told Reuters.
U.S. authorities have charged Gautam Adani and seven others with agreeing to pay bribes of $265 million to unnamed Indian government officials to obtain solar power-supply contracts in Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and the federal territory of Jammu and Kashmir, between 2021 and 2022.
Most of the alleged bribes - $228 million - were paid to a government official to get Andhra Pradesh's state electricity distribution companies to agree to purchase power, stated the U.S. indictment. Adani has said the allegations are baseless.
Andhra Pradesh's state government was "digging into all the internal files" from the previous administration, under which the alleged misconduct took place, state Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav told Reuters on Monday.
"We will also examine what can be done next, like is there a possibility to cancel the contract ... state government is looking into this issue closely," Keshav said.
A spokesperson for the Adani Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.
The previous Andhra Pradesh ruling party, YSR Congress Party, last week denied any wrongdoing.
The U.S. indictment document said that following payment of alleged bribes to Indian officials, Andhra Pradesh's electricity distribution companies entered into a power supply agreement to purchase "approximately seven gigawatts of solar power - by far the largest amount of any Indian state or region."
The U.S. charges are the biggest setback for billionaire Adani, whose company shares and bonds have fallen sharply since the indictment.
French oil major TotalEnergies TTEF.PA, which has a 20% stake in Adani Green, halted further investment into the Adani Group on Monday.
Writing by Aditya Kalra
Editing by Christina Fincher
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
