US charged Gautam Adani with bribery to Indian officials

Trouble mounted for Gautam Adani after US prosecutors indicted the Adani Group chairperson, his nephew Sagar Adani and six others for allegedly paying Rs 2,029 crore ($265 million) in bribes to Indian government officials for securing solar power contracts with state electricity distribution companies. The bribes were allegedly paid between 2020 and 2024.

The US prosecutors claimed that this fact was concealed from the US banks and investors from whom the Adani Group raised billions for the solar energy project. The Adani Group hoped to rake in $2 billion in profits by securing the energy contracts.

Four states and one Union Territory are in focus following the US indictment of Gautam Adani and seven others for allegedly paying bribes to Indian government officials. The prosecutors have alleged that the Adani Group paid $265 million in bribes, with a large chunk directed at officials in Andhra Pradesh, to secure contracts with state electricity distribution companies between 2021-2023.

The other states named in the US indictment are Odisha (then ruled by Naveen Patnaik's BJD), Tamil Nadu (under DMK), Chhattisgarh (under Congress), and Jammu and Kashmir (under Central rule). Andhra Pradesh was then helmed by Jagan Reddy's YSR Congress.

At the heart of the case is a contract secured by Adani Green Energy and another renewable-energy company, Azure Power, to provide 12 gigawatts of solar power to the government-owned Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). However, SECI struggled to find customers as the energy was expensive for state governments.

The allegations come a year after a damning report by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research accused the Adani Group of stock manipulation and accounting fraud. It triggered a $150 billion loss in the Adani Group's market value.

Adani denies allegations

The Adani Group has strongly denied allegations of bribery and securities fraud levelled by US prosecutors against its chairman, Gautam Adani, and other key executives. The group dismissed the charges as "baseless" and maintained that it operates with the highest standards of integrity and compliance. It further stated its intent to explore all possible legal remedies to address the accusations.