TotalEnergies pauses funding for Adani Group after bribery charges

French oil major TotalEnergies halted on Monday investments into Adani Group, after the Indian ports-to-power conglomerate was engulfed in a crisis over an alleged multi-million-dollar bribery scheme.

The Indian business group's chairman, Gautam Adani, and seven other people were last week charged by U.S. authorities with agreeing to pay around $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials.

The Adani Group has said the accusations as well as those levelled by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in a parallel civil case are baseless.

TotalEnergies, which has a 20 percent stake in Adani Green Energy Ltd, the company at the centre of the case, said on Monday that it will freeze further payments into the group.

"Until such time when the accusations against the Adani group individuals and their consequences have been clarified, TotalEnergies will not make any new financial contribution as part of its investments in the Adani group of companies," the company said in a statement.

TotalEnergies rejects corruption in any form, it said, adding that it "was not made aware of the existence of an investigation into the alleged corruption scheme".