Adani Group CFO Denies Bribery Allegations

Mumbai, Nov 29 (PTI) Maintaining that no bribes were given to government officials to secure contracts, Adani Group's chief financial officer Jugeshinder Singh on Friday said that he would definitely come to know if any large amount was paid.

"We know for sure, 100 per cent, that nothing of this sort happened. Because if you are paying that much amount of cash to someone, I would certainly know," the CFO told reporters here on the sidelines of a Trust Group event.

He said the allegations made in the US against Group chairman Gautam Adani and others including his nephew Sagar Adani is a case of "unique use of prosecutorial authority" and also made it clear that it is not an attack on the group. The individuals named in the allegations will respond and contest the charges at the proper forum, he added.

The fundamental stance of the group is that when it comes to announced investment and growth plans, capital is tied up, hinting that it will continue with all the projects.

He said no bank has contacted the group seeking a review following the allegations made in the US earlier this month, and added that everybody is willing to give the group whatever it needs to build the infrastructure.

"...fundamentally, our banking partners, they understand we don't need their money. Precisely because we don't need it, its available to us," he said.

The group withdrew an ongoing bond sale pending the clearance of the allegations, and added that it will go ahead with a planned private bond placement. There were no issues pending otherwise, and the next is anyways supposed to be coming after the FY25 results are out, he said.

At present, the Group has sufficient ability to repay 30 months of debt obligations, he said, adding that at no point does it go below 12 months.

Roughly about USD 3 billion of debt is coming up for repayment over the next 12 months, he said, exuding confidence that most of the banks will refinance it.

The group's aspiration is to raise as much debt as possible from the domestic markets in Indian rupees, but it is the absence of the long tenor money needed for long gestation infrastructure projects which takes it to the US, he said.

However, the group has been trying to deepen the domestic markets' capability to support such projects, including through retail issuances, he said.

The group has been denying allegations part by part after getting clearance from its legal team, he said, adding that more substantial denials are due in the next week or ten days.

The Adani group has respect for the US laws and is cooperating, he said, adding that it does not want to litigate a case in public.

The CFO said he was with Gautam Adani in London when the allegations came into public and was surprised.

Asked if Andhra Pradesh has indeed cancelled a power purchase agreement as reported, the CFO said there has been no such event but quickly added that he will be delighted with such an eventuality because it will be able to sell power at a higher price.