India's Adani Group revives US investment plans, FT reports

The logo of the Adani Group is seen on one of its buildings in Ahmedabad, India, January 27, 2023. REUTERS
India's Adani Group has revived plans for major infrastructure investments in the US, where the group's founder has been charged with bribery, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Since the election of President Donald Trump, the conglomerate has reactivated potential plans to fund projects in sectors such as nuclear power and utilities, as well as an East Coast port, the report said, citing four people close to founder and chair Gautam Adani.

Federal prosecutors in New York unsealed an indictment in November accusing Gautam Adani of bribing Indian officials to persuade them to buy electricity produced by Adani Green Energy ADNA.NS.

"We know what we want to do, but we will wait until this (case) resolves," the FT quoted a person close to Adani as saying.

Adani Group has said the charges were "baseless" and that it would seek "all possible legal recourse." It did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the FT report.

The group had previously been in talks with US companies on potential partnerships and had looked at petrochemical investments in Texas, the newspaper said.

After Trump's November election win, Gautam Adani said the group planned to invest $10 billion in US energy security and infrastructure projects, creating a potential 15,000 jobs.

Trump has vowed to make it easier for energy companies to drill on federal land and build pipelines.

"Once Trump came in, we have reactivated some plans," the FT said, citing another source it did not name.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission asked Indian authorities last month for help in its investigation of Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani over allegations of securities fraud and a $265-million bribery scheme.

In 2023 the conglomerate was accused by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research, which disbanded earlier this year, of improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation that sparked a $150 billion rout in shares of the group's companies. Adani denied those allegations.