In June 2020, a renewable energy company owned by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani secured the largest solar project deal in history. Under this agreement, a state-owned power company was promised to supply 8 GW of electricity.
But the problem arose, the local power companies were not interested in paying the price proposed by the state-owned company. This puts the implementation of the agreement in jeopardy. According to US authorities, Adani decided to bribe local officials to convince them to buy the power to secure the deal.
The allegations were made against Adani in a US criminal and civil case published last Wednesday. He is currently not in US custody. He is believed to be staying in India. The Adani Group termed the allegations as 'baseless' and said they would 'take all possible legal action'.
Hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes offered to Indian officials drew the attention of the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), while Adani's companies had been raising funds from US-based investors since 2021.
The incidents are detailed in a 54-page criminal indictment by US federal prosecutors and two civil complaints filed by the SEC. The document cited electronic messages between accused persons as evidence.
In early 2020, India's government-owned Solar Energy Corporation, Adani Green Energy and Azure Power Global signed a 12 GW solar power generation project agreement. Both companies were expected to generate billions of dollars in revenue from the deal.
This project was a major breakthrough for Adani Green Energy. This company is managed by Adani's nephew Sagar Adani.
According to the US SEC's complaint, the company previously earned nearly $50 million in its history in the sector and has yet to turn a profit.
Adani's project with the Indian government soon hit a snag. Local state power distribution companies were reluctant to buy new solar power in anticipation of future price cuts.
At that time, Sagar Adani and Azure CEO discussed bribery through WhatsApp. They plan to manage the local officials with money. In a message, Sagar Adani wrote, 'We have doubled the incentives for its adoption.'
Azure CEO Ranjit Gupta has also been charged with conspiracy by the US Department of Justice.
In August 2021, Gautam Adani first met with an official in Andhra Pradesh and promised to pay him a bribe of $228 million.
Then in 2023, the FBI seized Sagar Adani's electronic devices.
A grand jury indicted Gautam Adani and others last October, which was unsealed on November 20. Adani Group's shares fell by $27 billion after the allegations surfaced.
