In a statement, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged that Adani – a close ally of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi – and seven of his associates, including his nephew Sagar Adani, promised Indian officials more than $250m in bribes to secure energy contracts being funded by international investors, including some from the US.

The developments on Gautam Adani took place in the US on Wednesday night, and by early Thursday dawn, Rahul Gandhi, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Rout, SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav, National Conference leader Dr Farooq Abdullah and others began launching attacks on Narendra Modi.