Adani Group shares: ₹1.5 lakh crore wiped on SEC move

What triggered the sell-off

Adani Group companies came under sharp selling pressure after reports said the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approached a New York court for permission to serve summons directly on Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani. Gautam Adani is the chairman of Adani Green Energy Ltd, while Sagar Adani is the company’s executive director. The report linked the request to an alleged fraud and a $165 million bribery case. Market reaction was swift, with multiple Adani stocks trading deep in the red during the session. The selling also coincided with broader weakness in Indian equities.

SEC seeks court nod to serve summons via email

According to the report, the SEC has sought court approval to serve the notices via email. This step follows issues related to formal service of the summons. The Union government had declined two earlier requests to facilitate formal service connected to the alleged roles of the two executives in the case. The procedural development, rather than a fresh allegation, became the immediate catalyst for the market move. Still, investors treated it as a meaningful escalation because it suggested the regulator was pushing ahead on service despite earlier hurdles.

Allegations outlined in the US lawsuit

The lawsuit was unsealed in November 2024, according to the report. It alleged that Adani group executives violated US securities laws by making false and misleading statements in relation to Adani Green Energy Ltd. It also alleged participation in a scheme to pay bribes to Indian officials to secure favourable solar power contracts. The report noted that US law bars foreign companies that raise capital from American investors from paying bribes overseas or soliciting investments through misleading disclosures. These details shaped investor concerns because the allegations are tied to disclosures and fundraising, not only operational matters.

Friday’s market reaction: stocks down up to 13%

Shares of Adani group companies fell sharply on Friday, with some stocks plunging as much as 13%. Reuters reported that the sell-off wiped out an estimated $12.5 billion in market capitalisation. Separately, the programme referenced a ₹1.5 lakh crore (₹150,000 crore) wipeout in Adani Group stocks following the reports of the SEC summons. Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship firm, dropped as much as 10.65% during the session and ended among the top losers on the Nifty 50. Adani Ports was described as the biggest loser on the Sensex.

Stock-specific moves and earnings context

Adani Green Energy Ltd plunged 13.20% to Rs 785 after reporting a consolidated net profit of Rs 5 crore for the December quarter of 2025. That result marked a 99% year-on-year fall from Rs 474 crore a year earlier, as stated in the report. Adani Energy Solutions Ltd fell 10.57% to Rs 827.20 and hit a lower circuit after it reported an over 8% decline in quarterly net profit to Rs 574.06 crore, largely due to higher tax expenses. The combination of regulatory overhang and weaker earnings prints amplified the negative reaction in some counters. The declines were not limited to one company, with multiple group stocks trading in the red.

Broader market weakness added pressure

The wider market was also under pressure during the session described. The BSE Sensex fell 769.67 points to close at 81,537.70, while the NSE Nifty dropped 241.25 points to 25,048.65. The report also referenced weak advance-decline ratios, rising bond yields, and a falling rupee as part of the risk-off backdrop. With the Union Budget just around the corner, the report said investors were increasingly cautious. In that setting, even small negative news flow was described as triggering aggressive selling.

Analyst view: uncertainty can weigh on sentiment

The report included a comment from Ambareesh Baliga, an independent market analyst, who told Reuters that market participants had assumed there was nothing pending and that the group had been cleared. He added that the SEC filing seemed to have come out of the blue, and that with no clear timeline, the issue could weigh on sentiment in the near term. The key point for markets was not a precise outcome, but the visibility of the process and the absence of a stated end-date. That uncertainty can influence risk appetite, especially when combined with weak market breadth.

Adani Group response and legal posture

The Adani group has denied the allegations, calling them baseless, and said it would pursue all possible legal remedies. The report did not provide a timeline for the next steps in court beyond the SEC’s effort to secure permission for service. For investors, this keeps the focus on process-driven milestones such as court orders related to service and subsequent procedural developments.

Related episodes: earlier sharp falls and Hindenburg-linked volatility

The material also referenced other episodes of selling pressure in Adani stocks around regulatory and allegation-driven headlines. One separate market update cited steep single-day declines, including Adani Enterprises down 22.6% and Adani Green down 19% in a session linked to news about indictment and bribery charges in the US. Another section described how Adani Group shares remained under pressure after a Hindenburg Research report alleged conflicts of interest involving the Sebi Chairperson and offshore entities. In that instance, the report noted that the latest Hindenburg allegations did not have much impact on broader indices, and that Adani Green was the only stock to rise by the close in one cited session.

Key figures at a glance

Market impact: what this means for investors

The immediate impact was a sharp repricing of Adani Group stocks, with declines broad-based across multiple listed entities. The regulatory development also arrived alongside weak earnings signals in at least two companies highlighted, intensifying downside pressure. At the index level, the fall in Sensex and Nifty indicated that the move was part of a wider risk-off session, not only a single-group event. Still, the reported wipeout in Adani market value underscored that the group-specific headline was a major driver of selling in those counters. The key market variable going forward is clarity on timelines and procedural progress, since the report highlighted that the lack of a clear timeline can keep sentiment weak.

Conclusion

Adani Group stocks sold off sharply after reports that the US SEC moved to advance summons service for Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani through a New York court, against the backdrop of an alleged bribery and fraud case. The group has denied the allegations and said it will pursue legal remedies. Near-term market focus is likely to remain on court decisions related to service and any subsequent procedural updates, alongside upcoming domestic triggers such as the Union Budget.