According to US authorities, Gautam Adani, an Indian billionaire, was indicted in New York for allegedly engaging in a multibillion-dollar fraud conspiracy.
On Wednesday, November 20, authorities charged Adani and two other executives at Adani Green Energy, his nephew Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain, with allegedly agreeing between 2020 and 2024 to pay over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy supply contracts anticipated to generate $2 billion in profits.
Indian BusinessTycoon, Gautam Adani Charged With Bribery And Fraud In US
The prosecution asserted that the renewable energy company secured over $3 billion in loans and bonds during the specified timeframe by utilizing false and misleading information.
Five other individuals were charged with related criminal conspiracy offenses, including two executives from another renewable energy company and three employees from a Canadian institutional investor.
The Adani Group firmly refuted the allegations on Thursday.
“The assertions made by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of Adani Green are unfounded and refuted,” the conglomerate stated in a formal declaration, emphasizing that “all available legal remedies will be pursued.”
Following the recent US indictments, the market value of Adani Group companies experienced a significant decline of approximately $28 billion during morning trading on Thursday. Consequently, Adani Green Energy made the decision to cancel a planned $600 million bond sale.
Shares in Adani Green Energy plunged 17 percent and stocks for several other firms in the conglomerate lost more than 10 percent.
A judge has issued arrest warrants for Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani, according to court documents, and prosecutors intend to turn them over to foreign law enforcement.
The matter at hand pertains to potential infractions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a United States legislation designed to combat bribery.
Seven of the eight people accused are from India and lived there. The eighth one, Cyril Cabanes, is a citizen of both France and Australia and lived in Singapore, the prosecutors said.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has filed related civil charges against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and Cabanes, 50, an executive at Azure Power Global. Prosecutors identified Cabanes as one of the Canadian investor’s employees.
Gautam Adani’s net worth is estimated to be $69.8 billion, as reported by Forbes magazine. This places him in the 22nd position among the world’s wealthiest individuals and designates him as the second-richest person in India.
