Indian billionaire Gautam Adani charged in US bribery scheme
However the spokesperson of Adani Group said that the allegations against the directors of Adani Green were baseless.
Gautam Adani indicted: US prosecutors in New York indicted Adani Group Chairman Gautam S Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and six others on Wednesday for allegedly offering Rs 2,029 crore (US $265 million) in bribes to Indian government officials for securing “lucrative solar energy supply contracts” with state electricity distribution companies.
A Reuters report said arrest warrants were issued in the United States for Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, after a grand jury in New York indicted the business tycoon and seven others on charges of bribery of $265 million (around Rs 2,029 crore) on Wednesday (November 20).
Apart from Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani, The other six defendants named are, Vneet Jaain, who is the CEO of Adani Green Energy Ltd, Ranjit Gupta who was CEO of Azure Power Global Ltd between 2019 and 2022), Rupesh Agarwal, who also worked with Azure Power (between 2022 and 2023); Cyril Cabanes, a citizen of Australia and France, Saurabh Agarwal and Deepak Malhotra, all three who worked with a Canadian institutional investor.
Also Read- Assam bound illegal timber raft of 155 logs via Siang River intercepted
According to media reports, “…Gautam S Adani, Sagar R Adani and Vneet S Jaain lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from US and international investors,” Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, …… a press release issued by the US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York, said quoting US Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa H Miller.
“These offenses were allegedly committed… at the expense of US investors. The Criminal Division will continue to aggressively prosecute corrupt, deceptive, and obstructive conduct that violates US law, no matter where in the world it occurs,” said Miller.
Also Read- Indian Armed Forces concluded tri-services exercise ‘Poorvi Prahar’
However, the Adani Group on Thursday strongly refuted bribery allegations made by the United States (US) Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of the Adani Green as baseless. The Adani Group spokesperson in an official statement said all legal recourse will be taken.
After the allegations came out, the Adani Group has cancelled its $600 million bond offering. Adani Green Energy planned to use the bond sale’s proceeds to repay foreign-currency loan.
Shares of Adani group companies plummeted by up to 20 per cent, with Adani Green Energy down by 18.76 per cent, Adani Energy Solutions by 20 per cent, Adani Enterprises by 10 per cent, Adani Power by 13.98 per cent and Adani Ports by 10 per cent in the morning session.
