New York fraud and bribery charges against Adani Group are baseless, the company asserts.

• In a New York federal court, Gautam Adani, one of the world's wealthiest individuals, was charged with bribery and fraud in an alleged scheme.
• The allegations made by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of Adani Green Energy were "unfounded and rejected."
• The shares of companies in India's Adani Group dropped after the indictment, with Adani Green Energy, the focal point of the accusations, falling 17.9%.

Gautam Adani, the chair of India's Adani Group, was accused of bribery and fraud by U.S. authorities on Thursday. However, the group denied these allegations, calling them "baseless."

The shares of companies in India's Adani Group dropped after Gautam Adani, one of the world's wealthiest individuals, was charged with bribery and fraud in a New York federal court. The shares in Adani Green Energy, the company at the heart of the allegations, fell by 17.9%.

Several defendants, including Adani, are accused of paying Indian government officials over $250 million in bribes to secure solar energy supply contracts worth over $2 billion in profits.

The company's chair, his nephew, and a fellow executive are accused of misrepresenting their company's compliance with anti-bribery and anti-corruption practices to U.S. and international investors, who invested more than $3 billion in energy contracts.

The allegations made by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of Adani Green Energy are "unfounded and rejected."

The Adani Group is committed to maintaining high standards of governance, transparency, and regulatory compliance across all its operations. We assure our stakeholders, partners, and employees that we are a law-abiding organization, fully compliant with all laws.

Following the allegations, they stated that they would pursue all possible legal recourse.

Shares of Adani investor GQG Partners also cratered around 20% on Thursday.

Citi analysts stated in a Thursday note that Indian lenders' exposure to Adani Green Energy is a frequent concern among investors following the charges.

Citi stated that the energy company has borrowings of 630 billion Indian rupees and cumulative charges on assets are equivalent to 650 billion Indian rupees. However, Citi noted that lender-specific data may not be very accurate when it comes to fund-based exposure.

After being indicted, Adani Green Energy abandoned plans to obtain approximately $600 million through U.S. dollar-denominated bonds.

- CNBC's Boon Ping and Dan Mangan contributed to this story.