Adani Group stocks jumped 4% on Tuesday following news that a small number of US Congressmen had written to the recently appointed US Attorney General, requesting an investigation into the earlier indictment of Adani Group officials by the Department of Justice (DoJ).
Adani Green Energy and Adani Energy Solutions had stock increases of over 3% and 4%, respectively, while Adani Enterprises and Adani Power saw price increases of over 4%. Both Adani Ports and Adani Total Gas saw price increases of more than 1%.
On February 11, Adani Group equities saw a surge in spite of a decline in the Indian stock market.
US Congressmen oppose the indictment of Adani
The news that up to six US Congressmen wrote to the recently appointed Attorney General of the United States protesting “questionable” decisions made by the previous US Department of Justice (DoJ) indictment against the Adani Group in an alleged bribery scam was what sparked today’s surge in Adani Group stocks.
On February 10th, Lance Gooden, Pat Fallon, Mike Haridopolos, Brandon Gill, William R. Timmmons, and Brian Babin wrote to US Attorney General Pamela Bondi, bringing “attention to some questionable decisions made by the DOJ under the Biden administration,” according to PTI.
US prosecutors had accused billionaire businessman Gautam Adani of participating in a plan to bribe Indian officials with over $250 million (about ₹2,100 crore) in exchange for advantageous terms on solar power contracts. The Adani Group had dismissed the DoJ’s action during the Biden administration as irrational in November of last year.
“A number of these decisions involved selectively pursuing and abandoning cases, frequently acting against America’s interests at home and abroad, jeopardising relationships with close allies like India,” the Congressmen wrote in their joint letter.
They noted India has been a significant U.S. ally for many years. The PTI research also said that the relationship between the two biggest democracies in the world has prospered beyond politics, trade, and economics by developing into an ongoing socio-cultural interaction.
According to the letter, “some foolish decisions by the Biden administration, however, put this historic partnership and ongoing dialogue between friends at risk.”
The Adani group is an Indian firm with officials based in India, and one such decision is the dubious pursuit of a case against them. The underlying claim in this lawsuit is that members of this company formed plans to bribe Indian officials, who are also solely based in India.
Rather than referring the case to the proper Indian authorities, the Biden DOJ chose to proceed with indicting the company’s management without any actual harm to US interests.
Congressmen stated that unless there were some outside circumstances, there was no compelling reason to pursue a case in a way that may sour relations with an ally like India.
Just before President Trump took office again, this foolish effort ran the risk of destroying our relationship with a vital geopolitical ally like India.
President Trump’s pledge to restore American economic success makes our business ties with significant international and Indian partners crucial to reaching that objective.
