Fitch places some Adani bonds on negative watch after U.S. bribery charges

Fitch puts Adani Group bonds on watch for downgrade after U.S. bribery charges, impacting financial stability and investments.

Ratings agency Fitch has put some of Adani Group's bonds on watch for a possible downgrade after some of the firm's key executives were indicted by U.S. authorities on bribery charges.

Adani Energy Solutions Ltd, Adani Electricity Mumbai and some of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone rupee and dollar bonds are now on "watch negative", Fitch said.

Ratings on four Adani subsidiary senior unsecured dollar bonds were downgraded from stable to negative, the agency said.

Fitch said it would monitor the U.S. investigation for any impact on Adani's financial position, "particularly any material deterioration in near- to medium-term funding access, including their ability to roll over existing credit lines or access new facilities, as well as potentially higher credit spreads".

French oil major TotalEnergies said on Monday (November 25, 2024) it would halt financial contributions to its Adani Group investments following last week's indictment.

U.S. prosecutors have charged billionaire Gautam Adani, founder of the Adani Group, and seven others for their alleged roles in a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian officials to secure power-supply deals.

The Adani Group has said the accusations as well as those levelled by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a parallel civil case were "baseless and denied" and that it would "seek all possible legal recourse".