Gautam Adani, the billionaire chairman of the Adani Group, has been indicted in a $265 million bribery scheme by U.S. authorities. According to prosecutors, Adani and seven other individuals, including his nephew Sagar Adani, conspired to bribe Indian government officials to secure lucrative contracts for the development of India’s largest solar power plant project. These contracts were expected to generate $2 billion in profits over the next 20 years.
The charges include securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and violations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules. The U.S. authorities have issued arrest warrants for both Gautam and Sagar Adani, with plans to seek assistance from foreign law enforcement agencies. Another executive, former CEO Vneet Jaain of Adani Green Energy, is also involved in the scheme.
Also Read: ASI Arrested After Mistakenly Texting Senior Officer for Bribe
Prosecutors claim that the Adanis, along with Jaain, secured over $3 billion in loans and bonds by concealing their corrupt activities from investors and lenders. In response to the charges, shares in the Adani Group’s listed companies fell dramatically, with stock prices tumbling between 10% and 20%.
Further complicating matters for the Adani Group, Adani Green Energy canceled plans to raise $600 million in bonds after the news broke. The group’s dollar-denominated bonds also experienced sharp declines, marking the largest drop since February 2023, when the company was previously targeted by a short-seller attack.
Some of the conspirators referred to Gautam Adani by code names such as “Numero uno” and “the big man,” while Sagar Adani allegedly used his cellphone to track the bribes. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act charges were brought against five other defendants, and four people have been charged with conspiring to obstruct justice.
Currently, none of the defendants are in custody, and Gautam Adani, 62, is believed to be in India. His wealth, as reported by Forbes, stands at $69.8 billion. The case is significant as Adani is one of the few billionaires formally accused of criminal wrongdoing in the United States.
