Desperate Biden Seeking to Inflict Long-Term Damage Against Adani: Industry Sources
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The Adani Group has rejected the allegations of bribery and fraud by the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as "baseless". Reuters reported that arrest warrants have been issued against Adani, which will be handed to foreign law enforcement.
The US Justice Department and SEC's accusations against Gautam Adani should be viewed as one of the "last-ditch and desperate attempts" by the Biden administration-Deep State nexus to target the Indian billionaire conglomerate as well as integrity of Indian institutions, according to top industry sources.
"Biden has an unfinished agenda, neither has been able to isolate Russia nor has been able to corner India. So, the Biden administration has gone after Russia by authorising long-range missile strikes against Russia. Washington is going after Adani now by accusing it of fraud to the tune of $265 million. Biden is trying to sow chaos for Trump across the world," industry sources said.
Industry sources contended that Adani's overtures to Trump haven't gone down well with the Biden administration. Significantly, just over a week after Trump's election win, Adani announced a $10 billion investment in the US in the areas of energy security and resilient infrastructure, which is in line with Trump's economic agenda.
These sources pointed out that after repeated attacks by US short-seller Hindenburg Research and by "George Soros-backed OCCRP" against Adani failed to dent investor confidence in the Indian conglomerate's shares, the Biden administration was seeking to "entangle" the Indian billionaire in the American legal system.
"Getting entangled in the US legal proceedings will have long-term implications for the Adani Group, even when Trump takes over. In the end, the charges are likely to be discarded in the US court. But until then, the court proceedings might have a bearing on the company's dealings in the US market," these sources explained.
They said that a key issue here was to understand that Adani's stocks had a significant investment from US bondholders, who have continued to support the Indian billionaire despite repeated attacks from the likes of Hindenburg Research. In fact, the value of US bondholders to Adani stocks is significantly higher than those of Indian retail investors, sources added.
They expressed concern that, in the medium term, one could expect US financial advisory firms such as JP Morgan and others to reflect these allegations against Adani, which may not bode well for its outlook in the US and western markets.
Significantly, sources pointed out Trump's recent charge that the outgoing Biden administration was stacking up American courts with "radical Left Judges on their way out the door". They said that the attorney of the US Eastern District Court of New York, where the indictment against Adani and others have been filed, is also set to be replaced before Trump takes office.
Speaking about the indictment, industry sources said that the "whistle-blower" was Azure Global Power Limited, which is backed by foreign investors and whose executive is among eight executives named in the indictment.
"The indictment states that individuals named in the allegations have conspired to save themselves and their wrongdoings and seem to push the blame on Indian conglomerates as they are a soft target," sources suggested.
Industry sources expressed confidence charges against Adani were presently just allegations and not facts.
"Cases like this are common and often result in investigations without leading to any criminal convictions. Companies like Google have also faced such issues in the past," they pointed out.
Finally, industry sources also pointed to the timing of these charges against Adani, which have surfaced just days before the Indian Parliament's Winter Session.
"They always follow the same pattern. Last August, OCCRP's charges against Adani were published just around the Monsoon Session. Similarly, the Hindenburg Report was published last January just ahead of the Budget Session. The goal here is to undermine and embarrass the government and attack the integrity of Indian institutions," industry sources concluded.
