Police officers apprehend a Youth Congress member during a protest against Indian industrialist Gautam Adani in New Delhi on Tuesday. AFP
India's lower house of parliament suspended its proceedings for the second consecutive day on Wednesday due to disruptions by lawmakers demanding a discussion on the US indictment of billionaire Gautam Adani, while shares of his group's companies showed signs of recovery. Last week, US authorities charged Adani, his nephew and executive director Sagar Adani, and managing director of Adani Green, Vneet S. Jaain, with involvement in a $265 million bribery scheme to secure Indian power supply contracts and misleading US investors. The ports-to-power conglomerate refuted the allegations as 'baseless' and pledged to pursue 'all possible legal recourse'. India's opposition, particularly the Congress party, accuses Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of shielding Adani and obstructing investigations, claims that have been denied. Parliament proceedings were disrupted for the second day since the winter session commenced this week, with MPs chanting slogans and demanding a discussion on the Adani allegations. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, a vocal critic of Adani, called for Gautam Adani's arrest, stating, 'The gentleman has been indicted in the United States ... and the government is protecting him.' The government has not commented on the indictment, but the ruling BJP has distanced itself from the controversy. A BJP spokesperson stated that the party had no reason to defend Gautam Adani and considered industrialists as partners in nation-building efforts. On Wednesday, Adani Green, the company at the heart of the indictment, disclosed that Gautam Adani had been charged in the United States for alleged securities law violations and faced potential fines but had not been charged under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In a stock exchange filing, Adani Green noted that a complaint by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sought 'an order directing the defendants to pay civil monetary penalties (but) it does not quantify the amount of penalty'. The civil action by the SEC runs parallel to the US federal prosecutors' indictment against Adani and others. Shares of 10 listed Adani Group firms regained about $9 billion in market value on Wednesday, after losing up to $34 billion since the indictments, up to Tuesday's close. Adani Green, the most affected by the accusations, surged 9%, but its value remains down by some $8 billion. The indictments are considered the most significant setback for Gautam Adani, 62, and his conglomerate. French oil major TotalEnergies, which holds a 20% stake in Adani Green, has stated it will not make further investments in the group, adding that it was not informed of the US bribery allegations against Gautam Adani. Kenya has also canceled a procurement process of over $2 billion that was expected to transfer control of its main airport to the Adani Group.
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