Adani denies links to illegal mining in Karnataka

Adani Enterprises Ltd denied on Saturday any links to alleged illegal mining in Karnataka and said the company had never had any interest in mining iron ore.

Shares in Adani plunged as much as 26% on Friday on newspaper reports that the Karnataka Lok Ayukta's report had accused the company of paying bribes and permitting illicit iron ore exports.

Adani said in a statement on Saturday that it did not own or operate any iron ore mine in any part of the country. The company was a port operator at Karnataka's Belekeri port, but had stopped services there in June last year, it said.

"Any alleged illegal gratification or payoffs cannot be attributed to AEL given that AEL has been a mere port operator and the cargo interest always was with either miners or other parties," the company said, referring to Adani Enterprises Ltd.

Karnataka, which is facing a mounting political crisis after the state's chief minister agreed to quit over a $3.6 billion illegal mining scandal, has over 9,000 million tonnes of iron ore resources.