Athira Sethu
Kochi, 25 Jan 2026
The stocks of several firms affiliated with the Adani Group traded lower on Friday following the release of new legal documents filed in the courts that have sparked concerns that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will issue legal summons against Gautam Adani, along with his nephew Sagar Adani, in connection with bribery and fraud.
In the court documents submitted by the SEC, the Commission has approached the U.S. District Judge in Brooklyn, Nicholas Garaufis. Gautam Adani is the founding and current chairman of the Adani Group, whereas Sagar Adani is an executive director at Adani Green Energy. The action by the SEC is reported to be a part of the Commission’s investigation to address the alleged wrongdoing in the business undertakings by the Group. Media houses contacted the Adani Group and the SEC for comments but have not drawn a response.
There was a strong reaction to this news from the stock market on Friday (23 January). Shares in Adani Green Energy fell by about 14% by the end of the session. Adani Enterprises, which is said to be the flag-bearer of this group, declined by approximately 10.7%. Shares in Adani Power also declined; it declined by 5.7%. Shares of different companies of the Adani group fluctuated by between 5 and 13%.
This comes as a result of past legal proceedings in the United States. In November 2024, Gautam Adani and seven other individuals were charged in a case involving a large-scale bribery and fraud scheme. The case surrounds the accusations that the company executives misled investors in the U.S. and other countries about raising over $3 billion in funding for various projects.
The allegations indicated that there was a failure on behalf of Adani Group to provide accurate and correct information regarding how these organizations were implementing anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies. This investigation indicated that this information is necessary because investors are investing their money with this group, especially within the energy domain.
Additionally, filings revealed last year the Ministry of Law and Justice in India had declined to serve the summons to Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani through the use of the Hague Convention, which is an inter nationalism treaty used to facilitate the service of process on parties across the globe. Apparently, the SEC informed the court that the Indian officials had cast doubt on whether SEC had the authority to use this inter nationalism treaty to serve them the summons.
Furthermore, the claims indicate that the accused parties, including Adani, handed over more than 250 million in monetary bribery to Indian government officials. The payments were allegedly carried out with the intention of obtaining solar energy supply tenders, generating subsequent profit of over 2 billion. Moreover, legal proceedings are awaiting court in the coming months.
