Adani Greens Denies Bribery & Corruption Allegations Against Gautam Adani
There are no allegations of bribery against Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and senior executive Vineet Jain in the United States. Adani Green Energy made this clarification on Wednesday.
According to the Adani Group, reports from several media houses about charges of bribery and corruption under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and Vineet Jain are “false.”
Legal Clarification on Bribery Allegations
In this matter, renowned lawyer and former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi held a press conference stating that Gautam Adani has not been named as an accused in the chargesheet in the US investigation.
Adani Green Energy clarified that no bribery charges have been filed against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, or Vineet Jain under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The company firmly stated that only executives from Azure Power and a Canadian investor have been accused of bribery. An exchange filing from AGEL stated that the media reports about the bribery and corruption allegations involving Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and senior director Vineet Jain were “false.” However, officials are facing securities and wire fraud-related charges in the US.
Five Pending Cases in the US Department of Justice
The company stated that there are five pending cases with the US Department of Justice. Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and Vineet Jain are not included in Count 1 and Count 5, which relate to “conspiracy to violate the FCPA” and “conspiracy to obstruct justice,” respectively.
Count 1 only includes the names of Ranjit Gupta, Cyril Kebens, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra, and Rupesh Agarwal. The statement mentioned that the Department of Justice has not named any Adani Group officials in this regard.
Furthermore, the statement mentioned that Adani Group officials are only accused under Count 2: “alleged securities fraud conspiracy” and Count 3: “alleged wire fraud conspiracy.”
Case Filed in New York Federal Court
This case was filed in the Federal Court of New York on October 24, 2024. On November 21, the United States Attorney’s Office stated that Adani had allegedly paid or planned to pay bribes amounting to $265 million (approximately ₹2200 crore) to Indian officials to secure solar energy contracts in India.
The case involves Adani Green Energy Limited and another firm. The case was filed in New York’s Federal Court on October 24, 2024. In a hearing held on November 20, Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, Vineet S Jain, Ranjit Gupta, Cyril Kebens, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra, and Rupesh Agarwal were named as accused.
Arrest Warrants Against Gautam and Sagar Adani
Reports from Reuters indicate that arrest warrants have been issued against Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani. Sagar Adani is an executive at Green Energy Limited.
The Bribery Case Explained
According to filings by the US Department of Justice, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) awarded a contract for supplying 12 gigawatts of energy. SECI is an Indian government agency aimed at boosting solar energy use in the country.
Between December 2019 and July 2020, Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) and a foreign firm received the contract, which was confirmed by a Letter of Award (LOA).
However, a problem arose when SECI struggled to find customers for the electricity purchased from AGEL and the foreign firm. As a result, SECI was unable to buy electricity, leading to potential losses for both Adani’s company and the foreign firm.
Conspiracy to Bribe Officials for Solar Contracts
According to the chargesheet, Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, Vineet Jain, and seven others conspired to bribe officials to ensure that state governments signed electricity sales contracts with SECI, thus securing buyers for their solar energy agreements.
The chargesheet claims that Gautam Adani met with high-ranking Andhra Pradesh officials between August 7, 2021, and November 20, 2021, to ensure that the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Distribution Company (APEPDCL) and SECI signed solar energy contracts.
Following this, agreements were signed between APEPDCL and SECI, and contracts were awarded to AGEL and the foreign firm. Subsequently, state electricity distribution boards in Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Jammu & Kashmir signed contracts for electricity purchases.
Official Documents Released
Two official documents have been released in this case:
- The chargesheet presented by US prosecutors in the Clerk’s office of New York’s Eastern District Court, which does not mention any arrest warrants.
- A press release issued by the US Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York, which also does not mention arrest warrants for Gautam Adani.
Reuters Report on Arrest Warrants
Reuters reported on November 21 that, according to court records, a judge had issued arrest warrants for Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani. Prosecutors are preparing to hand over these warrants to foreign law enforcement agencies for enforcement.
Adani Group Denies All Allegations
Adani Group has denied all the allegations, calling them baseless. In a statement released on November 21, the group said, “The allegations against Adani Green Energy Limited directors by the United States Department of Justice and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission are baseless. We reject them.”
The US Department of Justice itself has stated that these are merely allegations and that the accused are considered innocent until proven guilty.
Sagar Adani Handles Energy Business
Sagar Adani, Gautam Adani’s nephew, holds a degree in Economics from Brown University, US. Sagar joined the Adani Group in 2015 and now manages the group’s energy business and finance. He focuses on renewable energy and aims to make the company the world’s largest renewable energy producer by 2030.
Adani Green Energy’s Clean Energy Portfolio
Adani Green Energy Limited has a clean energy portfolio of over 20 gigawatts, which includes the world’s largest solar power plant in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Adani Group aims to become the country’s largest company in this sector by 2030. The company’s market capitalization stands at ₹1.85 lakh crore.
