Indian billionaire Gautam Adani charged by US over $250 mln bribery scheme

Investing.com– Gautam Adani, Chair of the eponymous Indian conglomerate, was indicted with seven other men by a New York court on Wednesday on charges of a massive bribery scheme and for allegedly misleading investors. 

Adani, who is among the world’s richest men, was accused of having paid Indian government officials over $250 million in bribes to obtain solar energy supply contracts that were expected to generate over $2 billion in profits. 

The bribes were paid between 2020 and 2024- a period that was also marked by a sharp increase in Adani’s wealth.

Shares of firms under the Adani Group- which include Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (NS:APSE) and Adani Enterprises Ltd (NS:ADEL)- had also risen sharply in valuation over the past four years. Adani Enterprises is the flagship company of the conglomerate.

The allegations come more than a year after short seller Hindenburg Research leveled allegations of fraud and market manipulation against the conglomerate. The Hindenburg report had sparked investigations by Indian and U.S. authorities, although Adani faced little scrutiny in India. 

Hindenburg alleged that India’s securities regulator also had ties to Adani. 

Wednesday’s indictment was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York. 

“The defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars and Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from U.S. and international investors,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. 

The investigation into Adani involved the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The indictment also alleged that the defendants had attempted to hide the fraud by obstructing the government’s investigation into the case. 

Bloomberg reported that Adani’s units had scrapped a $600 million bond sale after the U.S. charges.

Adani could not be immediately reached for a comment.