EU to indefinitely freeze Russian assets
The European Union has announced plans to indefinitely freeze Russian assets held within the bloc, in a move aimed at ensuring up to $246 billion in R...
Last week U.S. authorities accused Adani, his nephew and executive director Sagar Adani and managing director of Adani Green (ADNA.NS), opens new tab, Vneet S. Jaain, of being part of a scheme to pay bribes of $265 million to secure Indian power supply contracts and misleading U.S. investors.
The ports-to-power conglomerate denied the charges as "baseless" and vowed to seek "all possible legal recourse".
India's opposition, especially the Congress party, accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of shielding Adani and blocking investigations against him in India, accusations that have been denied.
Parliament proceedings were disrupted for the second day since the winter session began this week, with MPs shouting slogans and demanding discussion of the Adani allegations.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who has been a vocal critic of Adani, said Gautam Adani should be arrested.
"The gentleman has been indicted in the United States ... and the government is protecting him," Gandhi told reporters outside parliament.
The government has made no comment on the indictment but the ruling BJP has distanced itself from the controversy.
The BJP had no reason to defend Gautam Adani, a spokesperson said, adding that the party was not against industrialists, but rather considered them partners in nation-building efforts.
"Let him defend himself," the spokesperson, Gopal Krishna Agarwal said on Tuesday, adding that the law would take its own course in case of wrong-doing.
On Wednesday, Adani Green, the company at the center of the indictment, said Gautam Adani had been charged in the United States for alleged violations of securities law and faced potential fines but had not been charged under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
In a stock exchange filing, Adani Green said a complaint by U.S. regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sought "an order directing the defendants to pay civil monetary penalties (but) it does not quantify the amount of penalty".
The civil action launched by the SEC runs in parallel to U.S. federal prosecutors' indictment against Adani and others.
STOCK REBOUND
Shares of 10 listed Adani Group firms recovered about $9 billion in market value on Wednesday, after having shed up to $34 billion since the indictments, up to Tuesday's close.
Adani Green, the hardest hit by the accusations, jumped 9%, but is still down some $8 billion in value.
The indictments are seen as the biggest setback for Gautam Adani, 62, and his conglomerate.
French oil major TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), opens new tab, which has a 20% stake in Adani Green, has said it will not make any more investments in the group, adding that it was not informed of the U.S. bribery allegations against Gautam Adani.
Kenya has also cancelled a procurement process of more than $2 billion that had been expected to give control of its main airport to the Adani Group.
Japan has lifted a tsunami advisory issued after an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 hit the country's northeastern region on Friday (12 December), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. The JMA had earlier put the earthquake's preliminary magnitude at 6.7.
The United States issued new sanctions targeting Venezuela on Thursday, imposing curbs on three nephews of President Nicolas Maduro's wife, as well as six crude oil tankers and shipping companies linked to them, as Washington ramps up pressure on Caracas.
Iran is preparing to host a multilateral regional meeting next week in a bid to mediate between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Kyiv has escalated its naval campaign against Moscow’s economic lifelines, claiming a successful strike on a vessel suspected of skirting international sanctions within the Black Sea.
An extratropical cyclone has caused widespread disruption across Brazil’s São Paulo state, with powerful winds toppling trees and power lines, blocking streets and leaving large parts of the region without electricity.
The European Union has announced plans to indefinitely freeze Russian assets held within the bloc, in a move aimed at ensuring up to $246 billion in Russian funds remain in EU jurisdictions, officials said on Friday.
Sudan is facing a record-breaking internal displacement crisis as fighting between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Friday.
Are Europe’s defence structures prepared to meet evolving threats from Russia? Recent remarks by NATO and intelligence officials have highlighted gaps that could shape European security over the next five years.
The Ashgabat forum in Turkmenistan brought together Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, raising questions about whether Russia remains connected to regional partners despite Western sanctions.
A bulk carrier owned by a Turkish company was struck during a Russian attack on Ukraine’s southern coast on Friday.
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