One of the biggest foreign investors in billionaire Gautam Adani’s business empire, France’s TotalEnergies, announced that it has suspended its involvement in the Indian conglomerate’s USD 50 billion hydrogen project pending the findings of an audit that was started in response to claims made by a US short-seller.
TotalEnergies has not yet signed a contract, despite the partnership with Adani Group being announced in June of last year, according to the chief executive of the French company, Patrick Pouyanne, who spoke during an earnings call.
According to the June 2022 announcement, TotalEnergies was supposed to acquire a 25% equity stake in Adani New Industries Ltd. (ANIL), a company owned by the Adani Group that is investing USD 50 billion over ten years in a green hydrogen ecosystem with a first-mover advantage of 1 million tonnes of production capacity before 2030.
Pouyanne stated that the hydrogen project will undoubtedly be delayed until we have more clarification.
TotalEnergies, which has a USD 3.1 billion exposure to Adani Group, will wait for the outcome of an audit that the conglomerate has commissioned in response to accusations of accounting and financial malfeasance made by Hindenburg Research.
The charges have been vigorously refuted by the Adani group, who have called them dishonest and a “attack on India.”
“Nothing was signed, but it was announced. Pouyanne declared in reference to the hydrogen project, “It doesn’t exist. It seems logical to put things on hold while the audit is ongoing because Mr. Adani currently has other matters to attend to.