Indian billionaire Gautam Adani charged in $250 million bribery scheme

A 54-page indictment alleges the chairman of the Adani Group personally met with Indian officials to pay off government officials and secure contracts that were projected to generate more than $2bn in profits.

Gautam Adani has been charged with paying hundreds of millions of dollars of bribes and hiding the payments from investors. Picture: AFP.

Gautam Adani, the billionaire founder of one of India’s biggest business conglomerates, was charged by the Justice Department with orchestrating a massive bribery scheme to pay off Indian government officials to secure lucrative solar-energy supply contracts.

Prosecutors announced a 54-page indictment Wednesday that alleges Mr Adani, the chairman of the Adani Group, personally met with Indian officials to advance the illicit deal and secure contracts that were projected to generate more than $2 billion in profits. Prosecutors alleged that Mr Adani, 62 years old, and two executives conspired to misrepresent the company’s antibribery and corruption practices to U.S. investors and financial institutions to obtain financing.

Mr Adani and seven other senior business executives, including two who worked at Adani Green Energy, the renewable-energy firm, were charged in the scheme.

Gautam Adani and his wife Priti Adani (2L) show their inked finger after casting their ballot to vote in India's general election. Picture: AFP.

None of the eight defendants have been arrested and are believed to be at large overseas, according to a spokeswoman for the Brooklyn US attorney’s office, which brought the case. One of the defendants is Sagar Adani, Gautam Adani’s nephew who oversees the Adani Group’s renewable-energy businesses.

“My office is committed to rooting out corruption in the international marketplace and protecting investors from those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of the integrity of our financial markets,” said Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace.

Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani were charged with securities fraud and two counts of fraud conspiracies. The Securities and Exchange Commission also brought civil charges against the two defendants, who are Indian nationals.

A lawyer for Gautam Adani couldn’t be identified. The Adani Group didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Gautam Adani founded the Adani Group in 1988. It built its energy empire on coal and is now setting up a solar supply chain. It is also building a solar farm in Western India that is expected to cover an area over five times the size of Paris.

The group’s flagship firm, Adani Enterprises, has started making materials used for making solar-power cells and panels. It is the first Indian company to do so.

Mr Adani’s firm has capitalised on India’s goal of increasing renewable energy while reducing dependence on Chinese imports. Although India has managed to start building solar panels within its borders, the raw materials have been mainly imported from China.

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