Gautam Adani accused of fraud and paying 21 billion bribes

New Delhi| A new controversy related to Adani Group companies has come to light. U.S. prosecutors have accused billionaire Gautam Adani and people associated with his companies of bribing Indian officials with $250 million (about 21 billion rupees) in exchange for favorable terms for solar power contracts

U.S. prosecutors have accused Adani, 62, his nephew Sagar and other defendants of paying more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials between 2020 and 2024. This amount was given to win the solar energy contract. This could potentially benefit the group by more than $2 billion (one and a half trillion rupees).

It is alleged that this was hidden from American banks and investors, from whom Daani Group had raised billions of dollars for the project. U.S. law allows foreign corruption charges to be processed, if they concern U.S. investors or markets. Adani Group has not yet responded to requests for comment.

“The defendants had a detailed plan to bribe Indian government officials to secure billions of dollars in contracts”, Brion Peace, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York who brought the case, said in a statement.

Adani Group Chairman Adani, his nephew Sagar R Adani, who is the executive director of the group’s renewable energy arm Adani Green Energy Limited, and its former CEO Vineet Jain have been booked for securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud. Has been accused of conspiracy. Adani was also charged in a civil case of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Sagar and Jain have also been accused of breaking federal laws in the five-charge case.

U.S. authorities have also charged three former employees of CDPQ, a large Canadian pension fund, in connection with the alleged scheme. He is accused of obstructing the bribery investigation by deleting emails and agreeing to give false information to the US government. CDPQ, which invests in infrastructure projects, is a shareholder in Adani’s companies.

Understand the whole matter

Serious allegations have been made against well-known American businessman Gautam Adani. A federal court in New York (Federal Court) has charged 7 people, including Adani, with fraud and bribery. According to the United States Attorney’s Office, Adani had promised a bribe of $250 million (more than 21 Abar rupees) to Indian authorities to acquire a project involving solar energy in India. However, till now there has been no response from the company on this. It is alleged that investors and banks from other countries including America were lied to to raise this money. Those accused include the names of Sagar and Vineet Jain, officials of Adani Green Energy Limited and close to the businessman. Media reports also claim that arrest warrants have been issued against Gautam and Sagar Adani.

On whom were the allegations made?

Gautam Adani, Sagar R. Adani, Vineet S. Jain, Ranjit Gupta, Rupesh Aggarwal, Deepak Malhotra, Saurabh Aggarwal and Siril Cabanese

What is the matter?

It is being claimed that between 2020 and 2024, the accused took the wrong path to get a solar power contract. They conspired to bribe Indian officials with $250 million. Through this contract, profits were estimated at more than two billion dollars in 20 years. For this, loans and bonds were raised on the basis of false claims and schemes. Some of it was also raised from American firms. Regarding the case registered in New York, it was told in the court that the money was raised against anti-bribery policies and through misleading statements. The accused also conspired to obstruct the investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Statement of the US Attorney

US Attorney Brian Peace said in the allegations that the accused had secretly planned to bribe Indian government officials to obtain contracts worth billions of dollars. He kept everyone in the dark about this and kept trying to raise funds from global investors including Americans. Peace said that we are committed to root out corruption from the international market.