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Billionaire Gautam Adani charged in US with USD 250 million bribery, fraud
US authorities claim Gautam Adani paid over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure lucrative contracts and misled investors.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused billionaire Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of the Adani Group, of defrauding American investors and bribing officials, news agency PTI reported.
The charges, filed on Wednesday, target Gautam Adani, 62, his nephew Sagar Adani, 30, executives from Adani Green Energy Ltd, and Cyril Cabanes, an executive at Azure Power Global Ltd. They are accused of conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud, along with substantive securities fraud, for allegedly orchestrating a multi-billion-dollar scheme to secure funds from US investors and global financial institutions through false and misleading statements.
Adani Green Energy did not immediately respond to the development.
According to the SEC, the bribery scheme aimed to benefit renewable energy companies Adani Green and Azure Power by facilitating their involvement in a multi-billion-dollar solar energy project awarded by the Indian government.
The charges include violations of federal securities laws' antifraud provisions, with the SEC seeking permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and bans on serving as officers or directors.
The SEC's statement highlighted that Adani Green raised over $175 million from US investors during the alleged scheme, while Azure Power’s stock was actively traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
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Simultaneously, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York unsealed criminal charges against Adani and Sagar Adani, Cabanes, and others linked to Adani Green and Azure Power.
The federal indictment unsealed in a federal court in Brooklyn charges five others with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with the bribery scheme, involving one of the world’s largest solar energy projects.
Federal prosecutors claim that between 2020 and 2024, Adani and his associates paid over USD 250 million in bribes to obtain solar energy contracts worth more than USD 2 billion in projected profits after tax over an approximately 20-year period.
Adani and seven other executives are accused of bribing Indian government officials to secure lucrative contracts and defrauding investors by making false statements about bribery and corruption.
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They also allegedly tried to obstruct investigations, according to FBI Assistant Director James Dennehy.
“This indictment alleges schemes to pay over USD 250 million in bribes to Indian government officials, to lie to investors and banks to raise billions of dollars, and to obstruct justice,” stated Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa H Miller.
“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," she added.
The Department of Justice alleged that on several occasions, Adani personally met with an Indian government official to advance the bribery scheme, and the defendants held in-person meetings with each other to discuss aspects of its execution.
“The defendants frequently discussed their efforts in furtherance of the Bribery Scheme, including through an electronic messaging application," it alleged.
