Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and senior executive Vineet Jain have not been charged with bribery in the US. Adani Green Energy gave this information in a clarification on Wednesday.
According to the Adani Group, reports by several media houses about bribery and corruption charges against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vineet Jain under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) are 'false'.
In this case, now the country's biggest lawyer and former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi has said in a press conference that Gautam Adani has not been made an accused in the charge sheet in the American investigation.
Adani Green Energy has clarified that Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vineet Jain have not been charged under the US Foreign Corruption Act. The company insisted that only Azure Power executives and a Canadian investor have been charged with bribery. In an exchange filing, AGEL said reports published by various media houses on bribery and corruption charges under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) against Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and senior director Vineet Jain are 'false'. However, the officials are facing charges related to securities and wire fraud in the US.
The US Department of Justice has five cases
The company said it has five cases pending with the US Department of Justice. In which Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani or Vineet Jain are not included in Count 1 and Count 5. Count 1 is 'conspiracy to violate the FCPA' and count 5 is 'conspiracy to obstruct justice.'
Count 1 only names Ranjit Gupta, Cyril Cabans, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra and Rupesh Agarwal.. The Department of Justice has not named any Adani Group officials under this, the statement said.
The statement further said that the Adani Group officials have only been charged with Count 2: “Alleged Securities Fraud Conspiracy”, Count 3: “Alleged Wire Fraud Conspiracy”.
The case was filed on 24 October 2024 in a federal court in New York
On November 21, the United States Attorney's Office said that Adani paid or planned to pay bribes of $265 million (about Rs 2,200 crore) to Indian officials to secure contracts related to solar power in India.
The entire case 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 Kabenis, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra and Rupesh Agarwal have been made accused in the hearing held on Wednesday i.e. November 20.
A Reuters report said that arrest warrants have also been issued against Gautam Adani and Sagar. Sagar is an officer of Adani Green Energy Limited.
In the picture, Gautam Adani (seated on a chair, first from right) and Sagar Adani (standing back, first from left).
What is the whole issue of bribery…
According to a US Justice Department filing, Solar Energy Corporation of India, or SECI, had bagged a contract to supply 12 gigawatts of power to the country. SECI is a renewable energy company of the Government of India, which aims to increase the use of solar energy in the country.
Between December 2019 and July 2020, Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) and a foreign firm were awarded the contract. A Letter of Award (LOA) was issued to him.
A problem arose here. SECI was not getting customers for electricity purchased from AGEL and foreign companies. In such a situation it was not able to purchase electricity from AGEN and foreign companies. This would have hurt Adani's company and the foreign firm.
According to the chargesheet, Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, Vineet Jain and 7 others conspired to bribe officials. So that state governments enter into power sale agreements with SECI and their solar power agreements can get buyers.
According to the charge sheet, 'Gautam Adani met the high official of Andhra Pradesh several times between August 7, 2021 and November 20, 2021. So that solar power agreement is signed between Andhra Pradesh Electricity Distribution Company (APEPDCL) and SECI.
After this agreement was entered into between APEPDCL and SECI. AGEL and a foreign firm got the contract. After this, the State Electricity Distribution Boards of Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir signed agreements for purchase of electricity.
Two official documents have been released in this whole matter
1. Charge sheet presented by American prosecutors in the Clerk's Office of the Eastern District Court of New York. There is no mention of an arrest warrant.
2. Press release issued by the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York. It also does not mention the arrest warrant against Gautam Adani.
American news agency Reuters wrote in a report on November 21, 'According to court records, a judge has issued arrest warrants for Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani. Prosecutors are preparing to hand over the warrant to foreign law enforcement.
Adani Group has dismissed all the allegations as baseless
Adani Group has dismissed all the allegations as baseless. Releasing a statement on November 21, the group said – 'The allegations made 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 reject it.
The US Justice Department itself said that these are only allegations at this time. Accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Sagar Adani handles the energy business
Gautam Adani's nephew, Sagar holds a degree in Economics from Brown University US. Sagar joined the Adani Group in 2015. Sagar handles the group's energy business and finance. He focuses on the renewable energy business and plans to make the company the world's largest renewable energy producer by 2030.
Gautam Adani's nephew Sagar joined the Adani Group in 2015.
Adani Green Energy has a clean energy portfolio of over 20 GW
Adani Green Energy Limited has a clean energy portfolio of more than 20 GW, including the world's largest solar power plant in the country's southern state of Tamil Nadu. Adani Group aims to become the country's largest company in this sector by 2030. The market cap of the company is Rs 1.85 lakh crore.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
