Adani Green Slumps as Total Halts Investment Amid US Probe

TotalEnergies SE said it won’t make any fresh investment in Indian conglomerate Adani Group until the consequences of US bribery indictments against founder Gautam Adani and other individuals have been clarified.

(Bloomberg) — TotalEnergies SE said it won’t make any fresh investment in Indian conglomerate Adani Group until the consequences of US bribery indictments against founder Gautam Adani and other individuals have been clarified.

The decision may add to worries about the Indian group’s ability to finance its expansion, while it’s also a blow to TotalEnergies’s growth plans in India. In the past few years, the French company has built partnerships with Adani entities in renewables and in natural gas.

Almost two years after a report by short seller Hindenburg Research accused the Adani Group of decades of fraud and market manipulation, federal prosecutors in the US alleged last week that Adani and a number of people around him promised more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials in exchange for solar energy contracts for Adani Green Energy Ltd. The Adani Group has denied the allegations.

Shares of Adani Green Energy dropped as much as 11% in Mumbai trading after the announcement from TotalEnergies. 

“Until such time when the accusations against the Adani group individuals and their consequences have been clarified, TotalEnergies will not make any new financial contribution as part of its investments in the Adani group of companies,” the French company said in a statement on Monday.

TotalEnergies bought a minority stake in AGEL in January 2021, and now owns 19.75% of Adani Green. It also bought 50% stakes in three joint ventures with AGEL, which operates renewable projects, in 2020, 2023 and most recently in 2024.         

TotalEnergies said it is not targeted nor involved in the facts described by the indictment and will take all relevant actions to protect its interests as a minority shareholder of AGEL, and as a joint-venture partner in projects with AGEL.

(Updates with details of TotalEnergies’ investments in sixth paragraph.)