The authorities in the United States are investigating if entities or persons linked to the Adani Group, including its founder billionaire Gautam Adani, were involved in bribing officials in India for favourable treatment in relation to an energy project, reported Bloomberg News.

The investigation, being led by the US Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York and the Justice Department’s fraud unit in Washington, is also looking into the role of an Indian renewable energy company named Azure Power Global.

“We are not aware of any investigation against our chairman [Gautam Adani],” the Adani Group said to Bloomberg News.

Various US authorities had last year initiated an inquiry into the representations made by the Adani Group to its American investors in the wake of the allegations of stock manipulation by Hindenburg Research.

In January last year, the American short-seller Hindenburg Research had alleged in a report that the Adani Group was pulling off the “largest con in corporate history” through accounting fraud, improper use of tax havens and money laundering. The Adani Group rejected these allegations, but the report pummeled the stocks of its listed companies and wiped out $111 billion of investors’ money.

Subsequently, a batch of petitions was filed in the Supreme Court of India seeking a court-monitored investigation into the allegations.

Earlier this year, the top court refused to transfer an investigation into allegations of round-tripping and money laundering by the Adani Group from the Securities and Exchange Board of India to a Special Investigation Team.

In its verdict on January 3, the bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said that the Securities and Exchange Board of India had not made any regulatory failure in its handling of the case, adding that the petitioners had not proved if the regulator had acted in a biased manner towards the Adani Group.

The bench also directed the securities market regulator to conclude its investigation into the case within three months.

US markets regulator Securities and Exchange Commission is also conducting an investigation into the Adani Group, two people aware of the developments told Bloomberg News last year.

Also read: SEBI knew about allegations against Adani Group since 2014, letter shows