The United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which is partially funding the Colombo Port terminal in Sri Lanka, is currently conducting due diligence on the project following allegations against Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani by the US Department of Justice. According to a Bloomberg report, the DFC has not yet finalized a $500 million loan agreement with the conglomerate, which partly owns the project.
“We continue to conduct due diligence to ensure that all aspects of the project meet our rigorous standards before any loan disbursements are made,” an official from the DFC stated. “The project has not reached financial close or signed a loan agreement,” the agency added.
The scrutiny of Adani extends beyond the chairman to the conglomerate’s various multinational projects. Recently, the Kenyan government canceled a $2.5 billion deal with the Adani Group related to electricity transmission in Nairobi due to allegations of fraud in a $250 million bribery scheme.
The contract for the Colombo Port development was signed by the Adani Group in 2021, in partnership with John Keells Holdings and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. The investment is estimated at nearly $700 million, with the project seen as a counterbalance to China’s influence in Sri Lanka. Recently elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has also indicated a potential review of the Adani Group’s wind power project approval.
