Three bad news came for Indian businessman Gautam Adani on Thursday. before- He was accused of bribery and fraud to get solar power contracts in the US. The case was filed in federal court in New York. Arrest warrants have also been issued against Gautam Adani and Sagar.
Second- After this news, his net worth decreased by Rs 1.02 lakh crore. third- Kenya cancels deal with Adani Group for power transmission and airport expansion Both the deals are worth Rs. 21,422 crores.
On Thursday, 9 out of 10 shares of the Adani Group fell. Shares of Adani Group are expected to fall on Friday as well.
America's allegation- offer of 2200 crore bribe to Indian officials
In America, 8 people including businessman Gautam Adani are accused of fraud of billions of rupees. The United States Attorney's Office says Adani paid or planned to pay $265 million (about Rs 2,200 crore) in bribes to Indian officials to secure contracts related to solar power in India.
The entire matter is related to Adani Group company Adani Green Energy Limited and another firm. The case was filed on 24 October 2024 in a federal court in New York. Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, Vineet S Jain, Ranjit Gupta, Cyril Cabenis, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra and Rupesh Agarwal have been made accused in his hearing on Wednesday.
However, it is not yet clear whether Gautam or Sagar Adani will appear in a US court or not, as they may try to dismiss the charges against them without appearing in court. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Brian Peace in Brooklyn said it was unclear which country Gautam Adani was living in. No accused has been taken into custody yet.
1,750 crore bribe was given to Andhra officials to buy electricity from the central company
- According to the US prosecutor, Adani's company recently got a contract to supply 12 GW (12 thousand megawatts) of solar energy from the central company Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). But, SECI could not find buyers to buy solar power in India. This deal would not have been possible without the buyers.
- In such a situation, Adani Green Energy and Azure Power bribed the government officials. In 2021, Adani met the then CM of Andhra (Jaganmohan Reddy) and the state government there agreed to purchase 7 thousand MW of electricity. Andhra officials were charged Rs. 25 lakhs is received. That is, a total bribe of 200 million dollars (Rs. 1750 crores) was given. Odisha similarly purchased 500 MW of electricity.
- After this between July 2021 and December 2021, SECI signed contracts to buy power from Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu.
- The two companies allegedly raised $175 million (Rs 1478 crore) from American banks and investors to pay the bribe. Used a code to hide his role. Adani's code name was 'Numero Uno' or 'The Big Man'. The deal was done through encrypted messaging.
- Adani is accused of lying to American investors and banks to collect this amount of bribes. The case was filed in the US because money from American investors was withheld in the project and giving that money as a bribe is a crime under American law.
Can Adani be arrested in America?
The US investigative agency against Gautam Adani may request his extradition. However, Indian courts will decide whether this law is applicable under Indian law. Apart from this, political and human rights concerns will be assessed. Adani may oppose extradition. This entire process may take some time.
Gautam Adani is yet to respond to any allegations. He has not yet appeared in any US court. If they are extradited or surrender, their lawyers can challenge the charges. The case is unlikely to start in court soon. Legal proceedings, debates on evidence and separate trials for other accused linked to Adani could extend the process.
What will be the punishment if found guilty?
If Gautam Adani is found guilty, he could face up to five years in jail for bribery. Apart from this, the charges of fraud and conspiracy carry a punishment of up to 20 years. Apart from this, they can also be fined heavily. Determining any sentence will ultimately be up to the judge handling the case. Adani's legal team may appeal any conviction, which could prolong the legal battle.
Adani said – all the allegations are baseless
Adani Group has dismissed all the allegations as baseless. The group said – 'The allegations leveled by the United States Department of Justice and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission against the directors of Adani Green Energy Limited are baseless. We refute them.
The US Department of Justice itself said that this is still only an allegation. Accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Who said what in Adani case…
- Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the operations of the Adani Group and its investments abroad.
- The TMC demanded an inquiry into the allegations of bribery and fraud leveled against Gautam Adani. Also demanded the statement of Prime Minister Modi.
- Union Minister Giriraj Singh said- Rahul Gandhi is suffering from Adani phobia, hence demanding his arrest.
- YSR Congress said that we had entered into a direct agreement with SECI (a central company), which was transparent and legally valid. Neither Adani nor any private company was involved.
Government of Kenya Rs. Cancel two deals worth 21,422 crores Kenyan government has announced cancellation of all deals with Adani Group after allegations against Adani Group in America. This includes major projects like power transmission and airport expansion.
President William Ruto said- 'Our government operates on the principles of transparency and honesty and will not allow agreements that are against the image and interests of the country. We will not accept any agreement that is against the policies and values of our country.
President William Ruto addressing the Parliament of Kenya.
The Kenyan government has signed an agreement with Adani Group for 30 years for $736 million ie Rs. 6,217 crore power transmission deal was signed. The deal was to build infrastructure for power transmission in Kenya. Apart from this, Adani Group has $1.8 billion i.e. Rs. 15,205 crore was also proposed to develop an international airport, but Rs. Both these deals worth Rs 21,422 crore have now been cancelled.
Airport employees went on strike
Ruto said, 'I have instructed the agencies of the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Energy to immediately stop these projects. This decision has been taken on the basis of new information and inputs provided by the investigating agencies. He said protests against the Adani Group had erupted in Kenya and airport workers had gone on strike.
On Thursday, Energy Minister Opio Wandei told a parliamentary committee that there was no bribery or corruption on the part of Kenya over the contract with the Adani group.
Adani closes green energy bond offering
Adani Group had on Wednesday announced to raise $600 million (Rs 5064 crore) from the sale of 20-year green bonds. A few hours later, he was charged with fraud.
Adani Green Energy Limited said in a stock exchange filing – The United States Department of Justice and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission have filed criminal cases and civil complaints in New York District Court against our board members Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani.
The US Justice Department has also included our board member Vineet Jain in this criminal case. In view of this, our subsidiaries have decided not to proceed with the proposed bond offering at this time. Now Adani Group has also postponed this bond offer.
Gautam Adani's net worth fell by ₹1.02 lakh crore in a day
Adani Group chairperson Gautam Adani's net worth fell by $12.1 billion (roughly Rs. 1.02 lakh crore) to $57.7 billion (Rs. 4.87 lakh crore) in a day as the company's shares plunged following allegations of bribery and fraud. ). With this, Adani has directly moved from number 25 to number 22 in Forbes' Real Time Billionaires list. However, even after this, Gautam Adani is the second richest Indian after Mukesh Ambani.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
