Price Of US Indictment! Gautam Adani Lost $15 Bn In 2 Days; Adani Stocks Weekly Drop By 30%

The price of US indictment was immensely felt in the net worth of billionaire Gautam Adani, where he lost about $15 billion in a mere 2 days, falling a few ranks below the richest list in the Bloomberg Billionaire Index. After the row of Hindenburg, one would have hoped the worst was over, however, Gautam Adani including his nephew Sagar Adani along with other executives are now booked for bribery schemes and fraud in the federal court of the US. All it took was two trading sessions for Adani Group stocks to enter into severe selloffs, so much so that their weekly drop is up to nearly 30%.

The free fall in Adani Group stocks has scrapped Gautam Adani's net worth.

Gautam Adani Net Worth:

At the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, Gautam Adani's net worth stood at around $85.5 billion as of November 20, 2024. However, after the news broke out that he and other executives including his nephew were facing a case in the federal court in the United States for alleged bribery case and fraud, panicked bears went loose, crushing Adani stocks steeply.

By the end of November 21, Gautam Adani's wealth declined by a massive $13.5 billion in a single day to $72 billion. The selling in Adani stocks continued even on November 22, which led to a fall of $1.19 billion, taking his net worth to $70.8 billion. Because of selling in these two days, Gautam Adani's overall net worth was squeezed and turned red. In these two days, in total, Adani lost about $14.7 billion.

Now, holding 21st rank, Gautam Adani's wealth is to the tune of $70.8 billion. YTD, his wealth has declined by $13.5 billion, down by 16.1% compared to the same period last year. At the start of 2024, Adani's net worth was about $84.3 billion.

As per Bloomberg Billionaire index, the bulk of Adani's fortune is derived from stakes in six publicly traded companies that are part of the Adani Group, the Indian conglomerate he founded. The companies and the stakes include Adani Enterprises (74%), Adani Power (75%), Adani Total Gas (37%), Adani Energy Solutions (70%), Adani Ports (66%), and Adani Green Energy (61%). Each of the companies are publicly traded and based in Ahmedabad, India. The shares are held by a group of individuals and entities that ultimately flow up to the Adani family's trust. They are credited to Gautam Adani to reflect his status as founder.

Further, the index's page highlighted that the Adani family also has businesses encompassing billions of dollars of assets and liabilities in a network of closely held companies that in many cases ultimately are controlled by the family trust or by Gautam's older brother, Vinod Adani. They include the family's stakes in Ambuja Cements and ACC, and debt taken on to finance those acquisitions.

Adani Stocks:

Despite a rebound on November 22, Adani Group stocks' weekly drop is in the red. On BSE, Adani Green Energy has taken the most beating of bears during the overall trading week of November 18-22, nosediving by 29.24%. Another energy company, Adani Energy Solutions faced a heavy selloff, falling by 27.6% on BSE. Meanwhile, the flagship company, Adani Enterprises dropped by 21.3% last week. Further, stocks like Adani Power shed nearly 17%, while Adani Total Gas and Adani Wilmar plunged by nearly 11% each. Additionally, Adani Ports shed about 12%.

Also, its cement stocks Ambuja Cements and ACC stock, faced a slower decline compared to other Adani siblings but ended the week lower by 8.4% and 4.71%.

Gautam Adani US Indictment:

According to a US Attorney Justice's statement, Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet S. Jaain, executives of an Indian renewable-energy company (the Indian Energy Company), with conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud and substantive securities fraud for their roles in a multi-billion-dollar scheme to obtain funds from U.S. investors and global financial institutions based on false and misleading statements.

Also, Adani and these executives are accused of orchestrating an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars. The report further claimed that Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from U.S. and international investors," stated United States Attorney Peace.

As per the allegations, the indictment took place between approximately 2020 and 2024. During these periods, the defendants agreed to more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts with the Indian government, which were projected to generate more than $2 billion in profits after tax over an approximately 20-year period (the Bribery Scheme).

The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty, the report said.