Adani withdraws US funding request for Colombo terminal
The port conglomerate said it will fund the project through its internal accruals and capital management plan
Chairman Gautam Adani was charged with conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud in the US last month, after an indictment was unsealed in a New York court
PORT conglomerate Adani Group has withdrawn its request for funding from the US International Development Finance Corporation to develop a terminal at Colombo, Sri Lanka.
DFC announced it had committed $533m to the project in November last year, which will see a new deepwater container terminal built at the busy transhipment hub.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) and John Keells Holdings were named as “world-class sponsors” of the project by DFC when the funding was announced.
But yesterday, APSEZ filed an announcement with the Bombay Stock Exchange which said it had withdrawn its request for funding from the DFC. Instead, the terminal will be funded through the company’s “internal accruals and capital management plan”.
This withdrawal comes just weeks after chairman and founder Gautam Adani was indicted on fraud charges in the US.
Adani and several other defendants were charged with conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud and are accused of agreeing to pay more than $250m in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts.
DFC said it was “actively assessing the ramifications” of the indictment in a statement last month.
An Adani Group spokesperson called the allegations “baseless” and denied all charges.
