TotalEnergies halts Adani investments after $250m green energy 'bribery plot' charges
Oil giant says it 'rejects corruption' and won't make further financial contributions until situation over Indian partner clarified
Oil giant TotalEnergies has suspended financial contributions to its investments in Adani Group companies after the latter's billionaire founder and other executives were charged by the US with fraud over an alleged $250m bribery plot centred on its renewable energy business.
TotalEnergies has partnered with the Indian group in several areas of the energy transition, including as a minority shareholder in Adani Green Energy – the business whose activities are at the heart of the bribery claims – and projects such as the 30GW Khavda green power mega-project.
TotalEnergies said today: “TotalEnergies, which is not targeted nor involved in the facts described by such indictment, will take all relevant actions to protect its interests as minority (19.75%) shareholder of [Adani Green] and as a joint-venture partner (50%) in project companies with [Adani Green].
“Until such time when the accusations against the Adani group individuals and their consequences have been clarified, TotalEnergies will not make any new financial contribution as part of its investments in the Adani group of companies.”
The US prosecutors claim Adani and others hatched “an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars and… lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from US and international investors”.
TotalEnergies said it “rejects corruption in any form”.
The oil giant added: “TotalEnergies recalls that its investments in Adani’s entities were undertaken in full compliance with applicable laws, and with TotalEnergies’ own internal governance processes pursuant to due diligence and representations made by the sellers. In particular, TotalEnergies was not made aware of the existence of an investigation into the alleged corruption scheme.”
This is the second time that TotalEnergies has put the brakes on a partnership with Adani. In 2023 it temporarily paused investment plans following claims of malpractice by a US research group, which Adani fiercely denied.
Shares in Adani Green – which is not as a corporate entity the subject of any action – have crashed by more than a third since the fraud indictments were laid and a parallel investigation launched against executives by the US stock exchange regulator.
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