Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani.
Credit: PTI Photo
Indian billionaire and business tycoon Gautam Adani's net worth dropped by more than $10 billion, almost 15 per cent, to $59.4 billion after a US court issued an arrest warrant on bribery allegations.
Multiple counts of fraud - which US authorities say involved a firm that was listed in New York and affected American investors - were levelled against Adani, who is one of the world's richest people, as well as seven other defendants.
The allegations meant that Adani saw shares of his companies tumble. At one point, his net worth had fallen to $58.5 billion, before rising slightly. Adani also fell down on Forbes' Rich List, from 22nd to 25th in the world, but remains the second richest Indian behind Mukesh Ambani.
Adani's networth according to the Forbes live rich list.
Credit: forbes.com
Adani Group said in a statement that the allegations were "baseless and denied", adding that it would seek "all possible legal recourse".
Shares in Adani Green Energy plunged 16 percent, and stocks of many other firms in the conglomerate, including flagship firm Adani Enterprises, lost more than 10 percent.
Adani dollar bonds slumped, with prices down between 3-5c on bonds for Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone .
The group lost $30 billion in value in Thursday's trade in India, putting its firms' combined market capitalisation at $148 billion. Before last year's Hindenburg report, the group's market value was $235 billion.
Shares in GQG Partners, an Australia-listed investment firm that is a major Adani backer, slid 20 per cent, its largest one-day fall since it listed three years ago. It said in a statement that it was monitoring the charges.
The unsealed criminal charges by the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York showed some conspirators referred privately to Gautam Adani with the code names "Numero uno" and "the big man," while Sagar Adani allegedly used his cellphone to track specifics about the bribes.
Five other defendants were charged with conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a US anti-bribery law, and four were charged with conspiring to obstruct justice.
None of the defendants is in custody, a spokesperson for US Attorney Breon Peace in Brooklyn said. Gautam Adani is believed to be in India.
(With Reuters inputs)