Moody’s says US bribery charges against Gautam Adani negative for credit rating: Report

Also Read: Adani stocks crash up to 20% after Gautam Adani indicted by US over alleged $250 million bribe plot

“The indictment of Adani Group’s chairman and other senior officials on bribery charges is credit negative for the group’s companies,” the report quoted Moody’s as saying in a statement. “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,” the agency said.

This comes as the Adani Group has found itself under legal scrutiny after US prosecutors charged Gautam Adani with being allegedly involved in a $250 million bribery scheme to secure solar energy contracts with the Indian government.

Also Read: Adani Group scraps $600 million bond issue after US charges Gautam Adani in bribery case

The indictment filed in Brooklyn, New York, was regarding false statements made by the group to US investors that violated federal laws. Other charges include tampering with evidence and misleading US authorities, including the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the FBI.

This entire controversy resulted in the group’s global financial instruments such as the dollar-denominated bonds taking a huge hit.

Large global investors, such as GQG Partners, have announced that they are closely monitoring the situation and carefully reviewing their exposure to Adani Group companies to see if any actions are necessary, according to the report.

This comes at a time when the group had been working to reduce its debt burden, having prepaid ₹7,374 crore in share-backed financing and pledging to eliminate all loans by the end of the month.

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