Gautam Adani, one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, has been indicted in New York for allegedly orchestrating a multi-billion-dollar scheme involving $250 million in bribes, concealing the operation from US investors.  

Prosecutors have charged the chairman of the Indian conglomerate Adani Group, along with two executives from a renewable energy company, with securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud.  

The US Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn alleges that the executives arranged to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to Indian government officials between 2020 and 2024 to secure solar energy supply contracts projected to generate $2 billion in profits over two decades.  

Separately, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US financial market regulator, charged Adani, 62, and the two executives with violations arising from what it described as a “massive bribery scheme.”

Steep losses in Asian markets

Early Thursday in Asian markets, Adani’s dollar bonds experienced significant declines, with prices dropping by 3-5 cents on bonds tied to Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone.

These were the steepest losses since allegations of “brazen stock manipulation,” “accounting fraud,” and “money laundering” surfaced in February 2023, following a report by short-seller firm Hindenburg Research. Adani dismissed these allegations as a “malicious” blend of “selective misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations.”

Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, explained that the defendants “orchestrated an elaborate scheme” to bribe Indian officials to secure contracts and misrepresented the scheme to investors while raising funds.

“This indictment alleges schemes to pay over $250m in bribes to Indian government officials, to lie to investors and banks to raise billions of dollars, and to obstruct justice," Lisa Miller, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, added.

“These offenses were allegedly committed by senior executives and directors to obtain and finance massive state energy supply contracts through corruption and fraud at the expense of US investors.”

A close ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Adani, who ranks as the 18th richest person globally with an estimated fortune of $85 billion, according to Bloomberg, is alleged to have personally met with Indian officials to advance the bribery scheme.  

Prosecutors further accuse the executives of frequently discussing the scheme via a messaging app, with one defendant, Sagar R. Adani, reportedly tracking “specific details of the bribes offered and promised to government officials” on his phone.

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