Why did Adani Green Energy and other Adani group stocks crash up to 10% today?

Synopsis: Adani stocks fell sharply after the US SEC moved to court seeking permission to serve a summons to Gautam and Sagar Adani via email, reviving concerns over the ongoing US legal case linked to Adani Green Energy.

Adani Group stocks suffered a sharp decline today. Several shares fell so quickly that they reached their lower circuit limits. This downturn began after fresh reports from the US reignited old concerns about a legal issue related to Adani Green Energy and Azure Power Global. With investor nerves fraying and the market responding almost immediately, all eyes stayed fixed on Adani, waiting for some concrete answers.

About the news

Adani Group stocks faced pressure in today’s trading after new developments emerged from the United States, bringing attention back to the ongoing legal case involving Adani Green Energy.

The catalyst was a recent action by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The regulator approached a US federal court and requested permission to serve legal summons to Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani via an unconventional method, that is, through email. 

Under American legal rules, summons and complaints typically need to be delivered in person to ensure the accused are formally notified of the case. However, the SEC claims that the normal process has encountered a barrier.

The SEC attempted to use the official cross-border route under the Hague Convention, which allows foreign legal documents to be served through designated government authorities. In India, this process is handled by the Department of Legal Affairs under the Ministry of Law and Justice. However, the SEC says its requests were rejected twice in the past 14 months due to procedural issues, that was first for lacking a signature or seal, and later because the SEC’s rules do not apply to this type of summons.

With formal delivery failing repeatedly, the SEC informed the court that further attempts through the Hague Convention are unlikely to succeed. It argued that alternative methods should be allowed since the accused are already aware of the case. The SEC pointed out that Gautam Adani has publicly discussed the matter, including at the Adani Group’s June 2025 AGM, and that both he and Sagar Adani have hired US law firms for representation.

History

The larger concern for investors is the implication of this situation as the case is still active and may proceed more quickly in US courts. On November 20, 2024, US prosecutors accused unnamed Indian officials of accepting about $250 million (Rs 2,250 crore) in bribes to secure solar power contracts for Adani Green Energy Ltd and Azure Power Global Ltd. The indictment states that eight individuals paid these bribes between 2020 and 2024 to win those deals.

It also alleges that Adani Green Energy raised $2 billion (Rs ~18,000 crore) from American and international investors through dishonest means by misleading them about the company’s anti-corruption and anti-bribery practices.

Following these revelations, the US Department of Justice launched a criminal investigation, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission opened a civil inquiry targeting Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and Vneet Jaain, who was the CEO of Adani Green at that time.

This case has rapidly become one of the largest international scandals involving an Indian business conglomerate in recent history. However, the Adani Group denies all the allegations, calling them baseless, and maintains that they adhere to the highest standards of transparency, governance, and compliance wherever they operate.

As a result of this, Adani Green Energy hit a 10 percent lower circuit, low, Adani Enterprises plunged by 9 percent, Adani Energy Solutions plunged by 8 percent, Adani Ports fell by 6 percent, Adani Total Gas fell by 5.3 percent, Adani Power fell by 7 percent, and Ambuja Cements fell by 5 percent, triggering a sharp fell in Adnai stocks today. However, this is a development story and many details are awaited.

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