NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 21 — Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and other executives have been charged in the United States over their roles in a multi-billion-dollar fraud scheme.
Adani, who is seeking mega deals in Kenya, was indicted by the US Department of Justice, alongside his nephew Sagar Adani, of orchestrating a bribery scheme involving more than $250 million in payments to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts.
“These bribes were used to deceive investors and banks, raise billions of dollars, and obstruct justice,” stated Lisa Miller, Deputy Assistant Attorney General.
The solar contracts were expected to generate over $2 billion in profits over a 20-year period. Investigators allege Adani personally met with government officials and engaged in extensive efforts to conceal the bribery scheme.
Evidence includes cellphone records, PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, and photographs documenting bribe payments and concealment strategies.
In Kenya, Adani has bagged multi-billion energy and infrastructure deals, in what has sparked major controversies.
The DOJ alleges the fraudulent scheme targeted US investors, enabling Adani Green Energy Ltd. to raise $175 million under false pretenses. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also filed parallel charges against Adani executives and Cyril Cabanes of Azure Power Global.
This isn’t the first controversy for Adani. In January 2023, US-based Hindenburg Research accused Adani of “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud.” The report led to an $80 billion decline in Adani’s net worth, though his fortune currently stands at $85.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Adani, often seen as an ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has denied all allegations, calling the Hindenburg report “nothing but a lie.”
