Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been slapped with criminal fraud charges in the US for allegedly orchestrating a $250m (£198m) bribery scheme to secure lucrative renewable energy contracts in his home country.

After US federal prosecutors charged Gautam Adani and several associates with fraud, media coverage in India has ranged from dryly factual to over-the-top in its defensiveness, revealing a divide over how to appraise bribery accusations against one of the nation’s richest businessmen.

As Indian billionaire Gautam Adani faces U.S. indictment, the implications for his longtime support Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration are significant — all the while raising concerns about India's sovereignty and the costs of protecting influential business allies.