New Delhi: The news of India’s billionaire businessman Gautam Adani – believed to be especially close to prime minister Narendra Modi – having been indicted by a US Attorney’s Office and the Securities and Exchange Commission over participation in a massive bribery scheme has understandably made front page across national English newspapers.
The Financial Express has reported the news with the headline ‘Adani caught in US solar storm’, with a wordplay on the initiative at the centre of it all – solar power. The paper has focused on how the Adani Group’s stocks experienced a sharp sell-off, causing the company to lose Rs 26 lakh crore in market capitals.
The paper also noted that the indictment points fingers at former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jaganmohan Reddy.
It also highlighted that the reprieve from the Hindenburg allegations of fraud appeared short-lived for the Adanis.
The Adani Group has called the charges “baseless” and denied them.
Mint highlighted – under its ‘US Indicts Adani in Solar Power Probe’ headline – that the US authorities have alleged a Rs 2,029 crore bribery scheme was put in place by the Adani Group to enable it to secure green power contracts.
It noted that the group vowed to explore legal options to counter the charges, which they called damaging.
The Telegraph, in customary style, wove a pun into the headline, noting that the US indictment meant “Justice for A(ll)dani”. It has called the BJP “Gautam’s gladiators”.
The Tribune has gone with ‘Arrest warrants in US against Adani, nephew’ to sum up the situation. ‘How Kickbacks Powered PSU Contracts for Adani Firms,’ it said.
The Economic Times has held that the ‘US Indictment Rocks Adani’, observing how stocks changed from the green to the red. The report notes that raising funds overseas will become difficult for the group.
