Billionaire Gautam Adani Indicted in New York on Bribery Charges; Was the Kenyan Project Won Out of Bribery?
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and seven other senior executives have been indicted in New York for their roles in a multi-billion-dollar fraud scheme, the US Department of Justice announced on Wednesday. The indictment alleges that Adani and his associates paid over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure lucrative solar energy contracts.
Adani, the founder of the Adani Group and Asia’s second-richest person with a net worth of $85.5 billion according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, is accused of orchestrating the bribery scheme between 2020 and 2024. The contracts, projected to generate more than $2 billion in profits after tax over a 20-year period, were allegedly obtained through corrupt practices.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa Miller stated that the defendants “lied to investors and banks to raise billions of dollars, and obstructed justice” to conceal their actions. Evidence presented includes detailed documentation of the bribes, including photographs, PowerPoint presentations, and Excel spreadsheets summarizing the payments and methods to conceal them.
The indictment also implicates Adani’s nephew, Sagar Adani, and other top executives from Adani Green Energy Limited and Azure Power Global. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed parallel civil complaints, accusing the defendants of misleading investors to raise capital for the solar energy contracts. Adani Green reportedly raised more than $175 million from US investors based on these misrepresentations.
The DOJ alleges that the defendants used the funds to pay bribes and mislead US investors about their compliance with anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws. The five-count indictment in Brooklyn federal court charges them with securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and securities fraud.
The indictment names other individuals involved in the scheme, including Ranjit Gupta and Rupesh Agarwal, former executives at Azure Power Global, and Cyril Cabanes, an executive at Azure Power. The defendants, mostly residing in India, are not currently in US custody. Cabanes, a resident of France and Australia, is also charged with conspiring to obstruct US investigations.
The case has drawn attention due to Adani’s close ties with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and previous accusations of corporate fraud. In January 2023, US short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the Adani Group of “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud,” causing Adani’s net worth to plummet by over $80 billion.
In a separate but related development, former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga defended Adani Group’s involvement in Kenya’s infrastructure projects, citing their capability to deliver large-scale projects. Odinga referenced his visit to Adani’s projects in India and vouched for their capacity based on his observations. Despite this, the involvement of Adani Group in Kenya has faced public opposition, with concerns about corruption and trustworthiness.
The indictment and the subsequent charges highlight the ongoing scrutiny of international business practices and the enforcement of anti-corruption laws by US authorities. The case against Adani and his associates underscores the complexities of global business operations and the significant consequences of engaging in corrupt practices.
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