US Bribery Scandal: Moody’s Slashes Rating Outlook On 7 Adani Companies From Stable To Negative

New Delhi: Trouble further mounted on the Adani Group after ratings agency Moody's downgraded the rating outlook of seven Adani companies from stable to negative.

"We have changed the outlook on all seven issuers to negative from stable," said Moody's.

"Moody's said on Tuesday that it had cut the outlook on the ratings of seven Adani entities to 'negative' from 'stable,' citing the US indictment of Chairman Gautam Adani and others on alleged bribery charges, which could likely weaken the group's access to funding and increase its capital costs. Moody's also affirmed the ratings on all seven entities, which include Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited, opens new tab and two limited restricted groups of Adani Green Energy," news agency Reuters has reported.

"The indictment of Adani Group's chairman and other senior officials on bribery charges is credit negative for the group’s companies. Our main focus when assessing Adani Group is on the ability of the group’s companies to access capital to meet their liquidity requirements and on its governance practices," Moody's Ratings had said in a statement on November 21, when the issue had first rocked the stock markets.

US prosecutors have indicted Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar and other defendants for paying over USD 250 million in bribes between 2020 and 2024 to Indian government officials to win solar energy contracts can be Credit Negative for the group companies.

It has been alleged that Adani duped investors by concealing that his company's huge solar energy project on the subcontinent was being facilitated by an alleged bribery scheme. A five-count criminal indictment has been unsealed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York, "A five-count criminal indictment was unsealed in federal court charging Gautam Adani, Sagar R. Adani, and Vneet S. Jaain, with conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud and substantive securities fraud for their roles in a multi-billion-dollar scheme to obtain funds from U.S. investors and global financial institutions on the basis of false and misleading statements."