{"id":8324,"date":"2024-11-21T21:44:49","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T21:44:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/indian-billionaire-gautam-adani-charged-in-us-over-alleged-250mn-bribery-scheme\/"},"modified":"2024-11-21T21:44:49","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T21:44:49","slug":"indian-billionaire-gautam-adani-charged-in-us-over-alleged-250mn-bribery-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=8324","title":{"rendered":"Indian billionaire Gautam Adani charged in US over alleged $250mn bribery scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged by US prosecutors over an alleged years-long scheme to bribe Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms on solar power contracts that were projected to bring in more than $2bn in profit.<\/p>\n

Shares in Adani Group companies tumbled on Thursday after the 62-year-old tycoon, who chairs the multinational conglomerate and has been a vocal supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was indicted in New York on charges including securities fraud.<\/p>\n

Adani, one of Asia\u2019s richest men, was charged alongside seven others, including executives of Adani energy subsidiaries and former employees of a Canadian pension fund. His nephew Sagar Adani, who is the executive director at a renewables company founded by Gautam Adani, is also among the defendants. <\/p>\n

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US federal prosecutors said more than $250mn in bribes were \u201coffered and promised\u201d between 2020 and 2024 to people in the Indian government as part of the scheme, which was allegedly concealed from the US banks and investors from which they raised billions of dollars.<\/p>\n

They claimed that Gautam Adani met an Indian official to \u201cadvance\u201d the scheme.<\/p>\n

The US attorney\u2019s office in Brooklyn also charged three former employees of large Canadian pension fund CDPQ in connection with the alleged scheme, saying they obstructed an investigation into the bribes by deleting emails and agreeing to provide false information to the US government. CDPQ, which invests in infrastructure projects, is a shareholder in Adani companies.<\/p>\n

The indictments threaten to reignite a reputational crisis for Adani Group, which has been trying to move past claims of accounting fraud and stock market manipulation made last year by US short seller Hindenburg Research. Adani has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

Shares across Adani\u2019s 10 listed companies dropped on Thursday. The conglomerate\u2019s flagship Adani Enterprises closed down 22 per cent, its ports business fell 14 per cent and Adani Green Energy declined 19 per cent.<\/p>\n

US deputy assistant attorney-general Lisa Miller said in a statement: \u201cThis indictment alleges schemes to pay over $250mn in bribes to Indian government officials. These offences were allegedly committed by senior executives and directors to obtain and finance massive state energy supply contracts through corruption and fraud at the expense of US investors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prosecutors further alleged that the defendants \u201cextensively documented their corrupt efforts\u201d on mobile phones, on PowerPoint presentations and in Excel spreadsheets \u201cthat summarised various options for paying and concealing bribe payments\u201d.<\/p>\n

In a parallel civil lawsuit, the US Securities and Exchange Commission said the alleged bribes were paid in order to \u201csecure [the Indian government\u2019s] commitment to purchase energy at above-market rates that would benefit Adani Green and Azure Power\u201d, two renewable energy companies in India. <\/p>\n

Adani Green, which is building one of the largest solar plants in the world at Khavda in India\u2019s western state of Gujarat, raised more than $175mn from US investors as part of a $750mn corporate bond while the scheme was ongoing, US regulators said.<\/p>\n

Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani allegedly \u201cinduced US investors to buy Adani Green bonds through an offering process that misrepresented not only that Adani Green had a robust anti-bribery compliance programme but also that the company\u2019s senior management had not and would not pay or promise to pay bribes\u201d, said Sanjay Wadhwa, acting director at the SEC\u2019s enforcement division.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to the regulator\u2019s complaint, Sagar Adani allegedly told Azure executives and others about \u201cincentives\u201d, or bribes, he had been proposing to \u201cmotivate\u201d state officials to agree contracts with the Indian government\u2019s arm responsible for implementing renewable energy programmes.<\/p>\n

Adani Group said in a statement that the allegations by the US Department of Justice and SEC against directors of Adani Green were \u201cbaseless and denied\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009[and that] all possible legal recourse will be sought\u201d. Adani Green said it would suspend a planned $600mn bond issue. <\/p>\n

CDPQ said: \u201cCDPQ is aware of charges filed in the US against certain former employees. Those employees were all terminated in 2023 and CDPQ is co-operating with US authorities. In light of the pending cases, we have no further comment at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Azure said former directors and officers of the company referenced in the charges by US authorities had been \u201cseparated\u201d from it for more than a year. \u201cWe have been co-operating with those agencies in relation to those and other matters and we will continue to do so,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Gautam Adani has over the past two decades built his conglomerate into one of India\u2019s most formidable industrial groups, diversifying from its core ports and trading business into mining, airports, coal and renewable power. <\/p>\n

It has built or bid for power, port and other infrastructure projects in countries including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Israel, where it operates the port of Haifa. <\/p>\n

In a post on X congratulating Donald Trump on his US election victory earlier this month, Adani said his group was \u201ccommitted to leveraging its global expertise\u201d and would invest $10bn in American energy security and infrastructure projects as part of the partnership between India and the US, with the aim of creating up to 15,000 jobs.<\/p>\n

Adani\u2019s rise in business has coincided with India\u2019s drive to harness private-sector expertise and capital to develop its infrastructure, which has accelerated during Modi\u2019s decade in power.<\/p>\n

The Indian National Congress party\u2019s Rahul Gandhi, who became India\u2019s opposition leader after this year\u2019s general election, called for an investigation after the Hindenburg allegations and questioned Adani\u2019s record of winning government tenders, as well as his close ties with ruling politicians including Modi, who is also from Gujarat.<\/p>\n

On Thursday the party said the US indictment \u201cvindicates\u201d its demands for a parliamentary probe. India\u2019s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Additional reporting by Arjun Neil Alim in Hong Kong<\/em><\/p>\n

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Video: Gautam Adani: the billionaire vs the short seller<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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