Why the Adani indictment matters for India

On November 20, two major cases were filed against Adani Green and its executives in the US for alleged business malpractices and misrepresentations to their shareholders and investors.

The first was by federal prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York (which largely investigates financial crimes in the US), while the second was by the Securities and Exchanges Commissions, the US financial markets regulator.

These allegations must now stand scrutiny in court but the response of of the markets, media and political actors makes it clear that after American short-seller Hindenburg Research in February 2023 accused the Adani Group of pulling off the “largest con in corporate history” through accounting fraud, improper use of tax havens and money laundering, the problems around the conglomerate refuse to go away. Regardless of the verdict in the case in the US courts, these repeated incidents are bad for India’s economy.

Here’s why.

Firstly, India has been breathlessly trying to sell itself as a destination for green and renewable energy investment for over a decade now. Between umpteen investment conferences, G-20, scores of public tenders, major policy changes, legislation and more, India has taken numerous steps to try to signal to international markets that its power sector is investable and that it has recovered...

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