Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani suffered a setback on Thursday after being charged with fraud by US prosecutors. Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and others were indicted for their alleged roles in a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian officials to secure electricity supply contracts.

Later, it was reported that Kenya canceled two major deals worth $2.5 billion with the Adani Group after the United States was indicted for corruption. However, the billionaire-led group has now clarified these reports, saying it has not entered into any binding agreement to operate Kenya’s main airport.

Regarding the agreement it signed last month to build and operate key power transmission lines in Kenya for 30 years, the group said the project did not fall within the scope of Kenya’s regulations. disclosure by Sebi, thus warranting no disclosure upon its cancellation.

The group was responding to notices sent by stock exchanges to confirm reports that Kenyan President William Ruto had ordered the cancellation of a purchase process that was to give control of the country’s main airport after the indictment of the founder of the conglomerate in the United States. The group’s flagship company, Adani Enterprises Ltd, which houses its airport operations, said in a filing that it had formed a step-down subsidiary in Kenya in August this year to modernize and manage the airports.

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“While the company was in discussions with the competent authority for the said project, to date neither the company nor its subsidiaries (i) have secured an airport project in Kenya, or (ii) have entered into no binding or definitive agreement in relation to any airport in Kenya,” the company said. He neither confirmed nor denied reports that Kenya had canceled the airport deal.

Under the proposed airport deal worth almost $2 billion, the conglomerate was to add a second runway at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and upgrade the passenger terminal. It also involved operating it under a 30-year lease. Kenya’s president also said he was canceling a separate 30-year, $736 million public-private partnership that an Adani Group company signed last month with the energy ministry and Oil to build electricity transmission lines.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published by PTI)