Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) fell about 11% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) to Rs933 on Monday after French energy giant TotalEnergies SE announced that it would not make any new financial contribution as part of its investments in the Adani group of companies until the bribe charges are cleared by the Indian conglomerate. As of September 2024, Totalenergies Renewables Indian Ocean Ltd and Totalenergies Solar Wind Indian Ocean Ltd, the units of TotalEnergies, hold 16.20% and 3.55% stake in Adani Green Energy.

In a statement, TotalEnergies says, "TotalEnergies, which is not targeted nor involved in the facts described by such indictment, will take all relevant actions to protect its interests as a minority (19.75%) shareholder of AGEL and as a joint-venture partner (50%) in project companies with AGEL. 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."
TotalEnergies says it learnt through public announcements made by the US authorities of the indictment of certain individual Adani group executives in relation to an alleged corruption scheme linked to the business of AGEL. "This indictment does not target AGEL itself, nor any AGEL-related companies. In accordance with its code of conduct, TotalEnergies rejects corruption in any form."
Further, TotalEnergies says its investments in Adani's entities were undertaken in full compliance with applicable laws, and with its own internal governance processes pursuant to due diligence and representations made by the sellers. "In particular, TotalEnergies was not made aware of the existence of an investigation into the alleged corruption scheme," it added.
In January 2021, TotalEnergies bought a minority interest in Adani Green Energy which has not grown to 19.75%. As part of its strategy to enhance its development in renewables in India through direct access to a portfolio of assets, TotalEnergies also acquired 50% stake in three joint ventures (JVs) operating renewable assets, AGEL23 in 2020, AREL9 in 2023, and AREL64 in 2024.
Last week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has summoned Adani group chief Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar, alleging their involvement in a US$265mn (million) bribery scheme.
According to the SEC complaint Azure Power Global Ltd, another stakeholder in the projects, is accused of collaborating with AGEL. The SEC alleges that Azure Power contributed to the bribes by transferring its rights to lucrative portions of the Andhra Pradesh projects to Adani Green. These transactions, the SEC claims, were structured to obscure the financial exchanges tied to the bribes.
In 2021, AGEL raised US$750mn through bond offerings, with US$175mn sourced from US investors. The SEC claims that offering materials, signed by Gautam and Sagar Adani, misrepresented the company's compliance with anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies. The bond documents highlighted Adani Green's adherence to ESG (environmental, social, and governance) principles and anti-corruption standards, which were instrumental in attracting investments from ESG-focused stakeholders. However, the SEC alleges that during this period, the defendants were actively bribing officials, undermining the ethical narrative presented to investors.
In parallel, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York has filed criminal charges against Gautam and Sagar Adani, Cyril Cabanes of Azure Power, and others. These charges include securities and wire fraud and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
The Adani group has vehemently denied the allegations made by the US department of justice and the SEC against directors of Adani Green, terming them 'baseless'.
On Monday, AGEL opened higher at Rs1,080.20 from the past week's close of Rs1,051.80. However, after the statement from TotalEnergies, the scrip fell to the day's low of Rs933. AGEL ended Monday 9.20% at Rs955 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), while the 50-stock Nifty50 closed the day 314 points up at 24,221.90 points.