Adani Stocks Fall Amid Allegations Of Violating US Sanctions On Iranian LPG

Adani Group Shares: Adani Group stocks fell up to 2.4 per cent in trade on June 3, 2025, after a report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) claimed that the billionaire Gautam Adani-led group is under scrutiny by authorities in the United States (US) again, this time for violating US sanctions on Iranian oil and petrochemicals. The WSJ report claimed that the US Department of Justice (DoJ) is investigating the group for allegedly importing Iranian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) via its Mundra port.

Shares of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Adani Enterprises, Adani Power, Adani Green Energy, Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Total Gas, and Adani Wilmar ended today's in the red, falling by up to 2.4 per cent. Other group stocks, including ACC, Ambuja Cements, NDTV, and Sanghi Industries also closed in the negative territory.

US President Donald Trump, in May 2025, announced the imposition of the sanctions, warning its trading partners to stop buying oil or petrochemical products from Iran immediately or else face secondary sanctions. "Any country or person buying from Iran would immediately be subjected to secondary sanctions," he had said.

This development comes months after US DoJ indicted Gautam Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, for allegedly paying bribes to secure power supply contracts and misleading US investors during a fund-raising round.

What WSJ's Report Revealed

The WSJ report said the US DoJ is reviewing the activities of several tankers that supplied LPG to Adani Enterprises.

The investigation found that several ships delivering LPG to Adani's Mundra port showed signs of trying to hide their movements, a typical behaviour often seen in ships trying to dodge international sanctions.

In one case, a tanker named SMS Bros (later renamed Neel), which sails under a Panamanian flag, was spotted in satellite images at an LPG terminal in Iran, even though its tracking system claimed it was somewhere else. The ship also displayed discrepancies in its reported routes and port records, the report said.

Several other tankers involved in shipments to Mundra reportedly showed similar irregularities. One such vessel was previously flagged by the US Energy Department for links to Iranian petroleum exports.

Adani Terms WSJ Report 'Baseless' And 'Mischievous'

After the report was published, the Adani Group was quick to respond and denied "any deliberate engagement" in evading sanctions, calling the WSJ report "baseless" and "mischievous".

Adani Enterprises, in an exchange filing dated June 2, said, "The Wall Street Journal's story of June 2 2025, by Ben Foldy and Dave Michaels, alleging links between Adani entities and Iranian LPG, is baseless and mischievous. Adani categorically denies any deliberate engagement in sanctions evasion or trade involving Iranian-origin LPG. Further, we are not aware of any investigation by US authorities on this subject."

"Any suggestion that Adani Group entities are knowingly in contravention of US sanctions on Iran is strongly denied. Any assertion to the contrary would not only be slanderous but also deemed to be an intentional act to injure the reputation and interests of the Adani Group," the filing added.

Adani Group also clarified that it does not own or control the ships (SMS Bros) the report has mentioned, and said it is not liable to comment on the activities of ships it neither operates nor contracts. The group explained that the LPG shipment in question was managed by third-party logistics providers and that the cargo originated from Sohar, Oman.

Further, the group stated that as an LPG importer, it carries out proper due diligence and Know Your Customer (KYC) checks to ensure its suppliers are not listed under US sanctions by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The group added that shipping and logistics are handled by reputable third-party international firms that operate in line with global compliance standards, including US sanctions regulations. According to the group, all supply contracts include clear clauses requiring that the LPG does not originate from countries under sanctions.

The group further stated that even though the shipping terms are CFR (Cost and Freight), they use S&P Global's Market Intelligence Network (MINT) to check that the vessels involved do not have a history of being flagged for sanctions or compliance issues.