Industrialist and business tycoon Gautam Adani is once again in the limelight. He is accused of offering bribes of around ₹2,250 crore ($265 million) to Indian officials to win contracts for solar power projects in India. The Adani Group then raised funds from American investors for these projects. It is also alleged that the Adani Group did not inform investors about bribery and corruption. These projects were expected to generate approximately $2 billion in profits for the group over 20 years.
After allegations of fraud and bribery against Adani surfaced in America, the Congress has attacked the BJP government at the Centre. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said that Adani should be arrested immediately, but he will neither be arrested nor investigated. A chief minister goes to jail on charges of 10-15 crores, but Adaniji scams 2 thousand crores and nothing happens. Rahul said that the government is with Adani. He demanded a JPC inquiry into the matter. Rahul said, will raise this issue in Parliament. Meanwhile, BJP leader Amit Malviya said that it is always better to read before reacting to someone. They are innocent until proven guilty.
American investors put money into the project?
The question is being raised that Adani Group's project is in India, but how did the investigation start in America against the Indian officials? In fact, the entire matter is related to Adani Green Energy Limited, an Adani Group company, and another firm. The case was filed in a US court on October 24, 2024. His hearing was conducted in a New York court on Wednesday. According to the US Attorney's Office, the Adani Group offered bribes of around Rs 2,200 crore to Indian officials to get contracts related to solar power in India. Adani is accused of lying to American, foreign investors and banks to collect these bribes. The case was registered in America because the money of American investors was withheld in the project. Giving that money as a bribe is a crime under American law.
'Profit of $2 billion expected'
In this regard, the American lawyer has held Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, Vineet Jain and 6 other company officials responsible. Prosecutors say the Adani group allegedly bribed Indian government officials to win solar power contracts with power distribution companies in states. 2,200 crore ($265 million) bribe deal. The bribe was allegedly paid between 2020 and 2024. This fact was hidden from American banks and investors and billions of dollars were raised for solar energy projects. Adani Group had expected to make a profit of $2 billion by winning the energy contract.
What does American law say?
Since the bribery charges involve Indian officials, however, US law states that such cases can go to court if US investors or market interests are concerned about the corruption case. It is also to be noted here that during the same period in which bribery is being alleged, in 2023 US-based short seller Hindenburg Research also released a controversial report on the Adani Group. The report accused Adani Group of stock manipulation and accounting fraud. Because of this, there was a loss of 150 billion dollars in the market value of Adani Group.
The project, which was accused of…
According to the US indictment, Gautam Adani is the founder and chairman of the Indian energy company. While Sagar Adani is the Executive Director of Adani Energy Company (Adani Green Energy). Besides Ranjit Gupta, former CEO of Azure Power, Rupesh Agarwal, consultant of Azure Power, is an American issuer.
An Indian power company and an American issuer won a contract to supply 12 gigawatts of solar power to state-owned Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). However, SECI could not find buyers to buy solar power in India. In such a situation, the deal could not go ahead without buyers and both companies were at risk of heavy losses. Meanwhile, Adani Group and Azure Power planned to bribe Indian government officials.
Majority of the bribes received by Andhra Pradesh officials?
It was decided that the government officials would be responsible for preparing the state power distribution companies to enter into power supply contracts with SECI. He promised to pay about $265 million in bribes to Indian officials, the bulk of which was paid to officials in Andhra Pradesh.
After this, several state power companies agreed and entered into an agreement with SECI to purchase solar power from both companies. It is alleged that the Indian energy company and the American issuer jointly paid the bribe. Not only that, code names were used to hide their involvement. For example, Gautam Adani was called 'Numero Uno' or 'The Big Man'. All communication was done through encrypted messaging. The two companies have reportedly raised over $175 million from American banks and investors.
'Meetings held to plan bribe'
However, there were leadership changes at the US issuer, which led to significant changes. Ranjit Gupta served as CEO of Azure Power from 2019-2022. Rupesh Agarwal took charge during 2022-2023. Several officials involved in the project were asked to resign. Meetings were held to decide how the bribes would be paid, so that no one would find out. Transfer of some parts of the project was also discussed among the options. It is also said that Gautam Adani also allegedly met government officials personally in this matter.
Currently, US authorities are investigating whether the Adani group attempted to bribe for its own benefit and whether it improperly paid Indian government officials to secure energy contracts. According to a report, an arrest warrant has been issued against Gautam Adani and his nephew after hearing in the US court in this case.
What Adani Group said in clarification…
Adani Group clarified that these allegations are baseless. However, these are only allegations, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. All possible legal action will be taken. Adani Group has always maintained and will continue to maintain transparency and regulatory compliance in all areas. We assure our shareholders, partners and employees working in group companies that we are a law abiding organization, fully complying with all laws.
The US Department of Justice and the SEC have issued an indictment in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York against our board members Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani, the Adani Group said in its statement. The US State Department of Justice has also included our board member Vineet Jain. In view of this development, our subsidiaries have decided not to proceed with the proposed USD denominated bond offering for the time being. According to Bloomberg, Adani Group companies have canceled $600 million worth of bonds following the US allegations.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
