The Adani Group has been hit with a fresh scandal, barely months after Kenya pulled the plug on two major investment deals with the conglomerate.
Indian business tycoon Gautam Adani is facing a new headache after a media report linked his company to the alleged shipment of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Iran - a country which is facing a string of sanctions.
US media outlet The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, June 2, that tankers exhibiting suspicious patterns had travelled between the Gulf and Adani’s Mundra Port in western India.
The report further said the suspicious activities linked with the tankers are very common in sanction-dodging operations. This has reportedly prompted the US Justice Department to review the activities of several LPG tankers, which are alleged to be involved in shipping cargo to Adani's flagship company.
In the wake of the report, which threatens to further dent Adani's image, the company has hit back by strongly denying the claims while slamming the WSJ's report as malicious.
“The WSJ story is baseless and mischievous. We categorically deny any deliberate engagement in sanctions evasion or trade involving Iranian-origin LPG,” Adani Group insisted in a statement through a stock exchange filing.
According to the group, they were not aware of any investigations by US authorities on the allegations.
To further clean up its image, the Adani Group also emphasised its strict internal policies, reiterating that the company does not handle cargo originating from Iran.
The statement added: “Due diligence and KYC checks are done on all LPG suppliers to ensure they are not on the US sanctions list,” Adani added. “We do not own, operate, or track the vessels mentioned and cannot comment on ships we have not contracted or controlled.”
The fresh allegations come at an extremely sensitive time for the Adani group, which is still recovering from legal trouble with US prosecutors last year. In November 2024, Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, were indicted in the US over bribery claims and allegations of misleading investors.
This scandal had ripple effects reaching as far as Kenya, as President William Ruto swiftly cancelled two highly controversial deals between the government and the Adani Group after the scandal.
One of the deals that was scrapped was a KSh 240 billion (USD1.85 billion) plan to upgrade and manage the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for 30 years. The other deal, a KSh 96 billion (USD 736 million) contract with the Ministry of Energy for the construction of power lines, was also tossed out.
Recently, Nelson Amenya, the man who famously blew the whistle on the Kenya's potential partnerships with Adani, sounded the alarm over an alleged new arrangement between the government and a company in the Middle East.
The whistleblower, who has been under the radar in recent months, emerged with explosive sentiments as he claimed there were plans by the government to hand over control and rights of a key airport to a firm from Dubai. by , Kenyans.co.ke
