New Delhi | Adani group stocks faced heavy drubbing during the early trade on Thursday, with Adani Energy and Adani Enterprises tumbling 20 per cent, as billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged by US prosecutors over his role in an alleged years-long scheme to pay USD 250 million bribe to Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms for solar power contracts.

The stock of the group's flagship firm Adani Enterprises plunged 20 per cent, Adani Energy Solutions tanked 20 per cent, Adani Green Energy plummeted 19.17 per cent, Adani Total Gas tumbled 18.14 per cent, Adani Power slumped 17.79 per cent, and Adani Ports dived 15 per cent on the BSE.

Also, Ambuja Cements cracked 14.99 per cent, ACC fell 14.54 per cent, NDTV dropped 14.37 per cent and Adani Wilmar declined 10 per cent.

Some of the group firms also hit their lowest trading permissible limit for the day.

In the equity market, the BSE benchmark Sensex traded 547.76 points lower at 77,030.62 during the morning trade and the NSE Nifty quoted 219.10 points down at 23,306.45.

US prosecutors charged Adani, 62, his nephew Sagar and other defendants for paying over USD 250 million in bribes between 2020 and 2024 to Indian government officials to win solar energy contracts on terms that could potentially bring in more than USD 2 billion in profit.

This, they alleged, was concealed from the US banks and investors from whom the Adani group raised billions of dollars for the project.

US law allows pursuing foreign corruption allegations if they involve certain links to American investors or markets.

The Adani group did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

"The defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars," Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, which brought the case, said in a statement.

Adani, chairman of the ports-to-energy Adani Group, his nephew Sagar R Adani, who is an executive director at the conglomerate's renewable energy arm Adani Green Energy Ltd, and its former CEO Vneet Jaain were charged with securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy.

The Adanis were also charged in a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) civil case.