THE FRONT LINES

The economic war abroad

Adani indicted: Billionaire Indian coal magnate Gautam Adani, one of the world’s richest men, was indicted Thursday by the US Justice Department on charges of an alleged scheme to facilitate a multibillion-dollar solar energy project, into which American investors have poured billions, with $265 million worth of bribes to Indian government officials. Adani is notable not only for his spectacular wealth, but also for his close relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who leads the Hindu-nationalist BJP. Because of this, the indictment caused both a 20% tumble in Adani Group’s stocks and halts in foreign investment as well as a stir in Indian politics, including protests by opposition party loyalists in India. DKP has previously covered the complicated relationship between Modi’s India (including his ties to Adani) and the US, which is likely to become closer under the incoming administration of President-elect Trump. 

UK rolls out new Shadow Fleet sanctions, EU considers China sanctions as G-7 commences with focus on Ukraine, mideast: The UK government announced a new round of sanctions today on ships in the Shadow Fleet helping Russia evade the oil price cap as foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G-7) industrialized nations met in Italy for the last such conference of the administration of US President Joe Biden. Efforts to resolve the Levantine conflict are likely to lead the agenda in the wake of International Criminal Court (ICC) warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as a Hamas leader. However, Ukraine is also expected to figure highly, including efforts (such as this UK announcement) to tighten sanctions regimes on Russia amidst uncertainty over what Trump administration’s sanctions policy will be. For its part, the EU has been reported to be considering sanctions on a number of Chinese firms for alleged aid to Russia. 

Romanian far-right candidate tops polls, potentially threatening cross-border aid to Ukraine: Calin Georgescu, an ultranationalist independent, took a surprise lead in the first round of voting in the country’s presidential elections, setting the stage for an 8 December runoff. Georgescu, whose “restore the dignity of the Romanian nation” slogan has strong MAGA vibes, surged to unexpected success in the polls largely through a TikTok campaign. The candidate has a history of Orban-like, NATO-skeptical, Russia-friendly statements, prompting a rival candidate to proclaim the election an “existential” fight for Romanian democracy. This is certainly a concern amidst a Europe-wide far right surge and a broader global backlash against incumbent governments. Given Romania’s long frontier with Ukraine, over which substantial amounts of aid transit, it’s also a concern for cross-border support efforts.