Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said that no action can be taken with regard to the bribery allegations against the Adani group until concrete evidence is available, The Indian Express reported on Thursday.

On November 20, the US Attorney’s office for the Eastern District in New York indicted billionaire Gautam Adani, the chairperson of the Adani Group, in a $265 million bribery and fraud case.

In a filing, the United States’ markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, alleged that Andhra Pradesh’s previous YSR Congress government had been paid or promised a bribe of nearly $200 million by Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani in exchange for power supply agreements.

The YSRCP, which was in power in Andhra Pradesh between 2019 and 2024 under Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, said its government had not entered into any agreement with Adani Group. Instead, it said, its power purchase contract was with the Solar Energy Corporation of India, an enterprise owned by the government of India.

Speaking about the case on Wednesday, Naidu said that the agreement was beneficial for the state government and that a comprehensive review of the records would be needed before any official action is taken.

“We will move ahead as per the provisions of law after examining the records,” he said at the Telugu Desam Party’s headquarters at Mangalagiri. “However big one may be, he or she is equal before the law,” he added.

“In fact, the Solar Energy Corporation of India agreement is a good opportunity for us to settle political scores,” he further said. “But we will follow the due procedure and take up action legally after proving the charges against them.”

A day earlier, the chief minister had highlighted the possibility of facing substantial penalties if the deal is cancelled.

“We have to pay high penalties if we scrap the contracts,” Naidu said in Vijayawada. “Unless there is clear proof, we cannot take action,” he added, emphasising that his party would never resort to “vendetta politics”.

On November 22, Naidu said that his government would study the United States’ indictment reports and take action in case of any irregularities.

State Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav had told Reuters in November that the Telugu Desam Party government was contemplating terminating the contract. He said that the government was “digging into all the internal files” from the previous administration.

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