New York/New Delhi, Nov 21 : Billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged by US prosecutors in connection with an alleged years-long scheme to bribe Indian officials with $250 million in exchange for favorable terms on solar power contracts.
Adani, 62, along with his nephew Sagar Adani and other defendants, is accused of paying over $250 million in bribes between 2020 and 2024 to secure lucrative solar energy contracts potentially worth over $2 billion in profits. The scheme was allegedly concealed from US banks and investors who funded the Adani Group’s solar projects.
US law allows the prosecution of foreign corruption cases that involve links to US investors or markets. The Adani Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, described the scheme as an “elaborate” effort to bribe Indian government officials for billions of dollars in contracts.
The charges include securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, and wire fraud conspiracy against Adani, his nephew Sagar, and former Adani Green Energy CEO Vneet Jaain. Additionally, a civil case has been filed against the Adanis by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The indictment also accuses Sagar and Jaain of violating federal laws. Three former employees of Canadian pension fund CDPQ, a shareholder in Adani companies, are charged for obstructing the bribery investigation by deleting emails and providing false information to the US authorities.
The charges come at a time when the Adani Group is already recovering from the damage caused by Hindenburg Research’s allegations of stock manipulation and accounting fraud in January 2023. The group’s market value had dropped by $150 billion but has since regained most of the losses.
The charges focus on Adani Green’s efforts to raise over $175 million from US investors, with Azure Power’s stock also being traded on the New York Stock Exchange during the alleged bribery.
In the court documents, some conspirators reportedly referred to Gautam Adani as “Numero Uno” and “the big man,” while his nephew allegedly tracked the bribes on his cellphone.
US authorities revealed that FBI agents seized electronic devices from Sagar Adani in March 2023 as part of their investigation. Additional charges were brought against Ranjit Gupta and Rupesh Agarwal, former executives of Azure Power, for their involvement in the bribery scheme.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York unsealed the indictment, charging five others with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in relation to the bribery scheme linked to one of the world’s largest solar energy projects.
