US development agency assessing ramifications on Adani's Sri Lanka project

A US agency said on Sunday that it is reviewing the impact of Department of Justice bribery allegations against the founder of India's Adani Group on the agency's prior agreement to lend more than $550 million to a Sri Lankan port development backed by the group.

The US International Development Finance Corp last November said it would provide $553 million in financing for the port terminal project in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. The project is partly owned by the Adani Group.

Federal prosecutors in New York on Wednesday announced that Gautam Adani, the billionaire founder of the Adani Group, and seven other individuals had been indicted on charges of paying about $265 billion in bribes to Indian government officials to obtain contracts expected to yield $2 billion of profit over 20 years, and develop India's largest solar power plant project.

"DFC is aware of the recent allegations related to Adani and is actively assessing the ramifications in light of the recent DOJ announcement," an official with the development agency said in a statement.

"We are committed to ensuring that our projects and partners uphold the highest standards of integrity and compliance," the official said.

The agency said that no funds have yet been disbursed under the loan commitment.

Bloomberg News first reported the news on the DFC on Sunday.

The Adani Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours on Sunday.

The Adani Group has said the Justice Department accusations as well as those leveled by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in a parallel civil case are "baseless and denied" and said it will seek "all possible legal recourse."