One of the world's richest Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged with bribery and fraud. He has been accused of paying US$250 million in bribes and collecting money from US investors while keeping the matter a secret.
According to a report by The Guardian, two executives of Adani and a renewable energy company were charged with fraud in financial transactions and investments in a New York court on Wednesday.
At the same time, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US's apex market watchdog, accused Adani and the two executives of large-scale financial fraud.
According to the US Attorney's Office in Brooklyn, two executives of Adani and a renewable energy company agreed to pay bribes to Indian government officials between 2020 and 2024 to secure solar power supply contracts. They were hoping to make $200 million in profit over 20 years from this deal.
US Attorney Brian Peace said the accused orchestrated a scheme to bribe Indian officials for the energy deal. The lie then raised capital from US and international investors.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa Miller said billions of dollars in funds were raised by defrauding US investors and banks to pay $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials. Adani used corruption and fraud to raise the funds to win this major energy supply contract, causing losses to US investors.
According to the prosecutor, Adani himself met several Indian government officials about the deal. The accused executives were communicating through messaging apps to make the plan work. Evidence of offers and promises to pay government officials was found on the phones of accused Sagar and Adani.
Adani Group was not immediately available for comment.
According to Bloomberg's list, 62-year-old Gautam Adani is the 18th richest person in the world, with a personal fortune of $85 billion. The Adani Group has diverse businesses including seaports, coal mines, airport management, energy and more.
Last year, a report by US private investment firm Hindenburg Research accused the Adani Group of stock market fraud, accounting fraud and embezzlement. After that, the company's market value came under pressure.
The Adani Group denied Hindenburg's claims, terming them as false, baseless and deliberate allegations.
