Gautam Adani, nephew charged with fraud, not bribery, company says about US indictment
The industrialist has been charged by a New York court in an alleged multibillion-dollar fraud scheme related to Adani Green Energy’s projects in India.
Industrialist Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani have not been charged with violating the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Adani Green Energy said in a stock exchange filing on Wednesday.
The clarification came a week after the United States Attorney’s office for the Eastern District announced the indictment of Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and others in a Rs 2,200 bribery and fraud case.
Adani Green Energy is a subsidiary of the Adani Group.
The case is based on charges filed against the Adani Group founder, his nephew and executive Vneet Jaain by the US Department of Justice and markets regulator Securities and Exchange Commission. They are accused of securities fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and related offences.
Adani Green Energy, at the centre of bribery allegations involving $265 million, or Rs 2,200 crore, in alleged payments to Indian officials, said claims of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations were “incorrect”. The directors face charges related to financial penalties, not bribery, the company stated.
“These directors have been charged on three counts: securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and securities fraud,” it noted.
The US Department of Justice alleges Adani executives participated in a scheme to bribe officials for solar energy contracts, misrepresented the company’s anti-bribery practices, and concealed information to secure financing. Adani Group has denied the allegations and vowed legal action.
While the indictment document outlines conspiracy to obstruct justice and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, Adani and his executives were not charged on these counts.
The indictment document does, however, name Adani, Sagar and Cyril Cabanes of Azure Power Global in what it describes as a “massive bribery scheme”.
The charges have hurt the group’s market value with shares falling by $54 billion.
Credit rating agency Moody’s on Tuesday downgraded the outlook for Adani firms to “negative” and partner TotalEnergies has paused investments citing legal uncertainties.
Adani Green Energy also withdrew $600 million in green bonds launched the same day the indictment was issued, citing investor protection concerns.
Also read: What does US law say about Adani’s indictment – and can he be charged in India?
