Adani accused in $265M bribery case 2024.

The US has charged Indian billionaire Gautam Adaani with involvement in a $265m bribery scam and has put his empire in deep crisis for the second time in two years.

Fraud charges against Adaani, currently ranked among the world’s wealthiest men, and seven other defendants dealt a blow to the firms he controls when multiple fraud charges were preferred against them on Thursday reducing the value of shares and bonds in these firms. The company accused in this matter, Adaani Green Energy, also pulled out its $600m bond sale.

Advance search warrants have been made against Adaani and his Nephew Sagar Adaani and prosecutors’ intention is to surrender those warrants in foreign jurisdictions as per court documents. According to the US federal prosecutors, the defendants agreed to pay bribes to Indian government officials to secure an expected $2 billion profit over twenty years to develop India’s biggest solar power plant project. One of the allegations also canceled a $600m bond sale.

Arrest warrants have been issued for Adaani and his nephew Sagar Adaani and prosecutors plan to hand those warrants to foreign law enforcement, court records show.

US federal prosecutors said the defendants agreed to pay the bribes to Indian government officials to obtain contracts expected to yield $2 billion of profit over 20 years and develop India’s largest solar power plant project.

They also said the Adaanis and another executive at Adaani Green Energy’s former CEO Vneet Jaain defaulted on more than $3bn in loans and bonds by concealing the corruption from its lenders and investors.

The three were accused of securities fraud and securities fraud conspiracy as well as wire fraud conspiracy charges. The Adonis were also accused in a linked US SEC civil suit. The two Adaani groups were involved in the bribery scheme during a note offering by its subsidiary Adaani Green Enterprises in September last year when it floated a $ 750 million note offering, of which the funds raised from US investors was about $175 million according to the SEC announcement. agar Adaani was engaged in the bribery scheme during a September 2021 note offering by Adani Green that raised $750m, including approximately $175m from US investors,” the SEC said in a press statement.

The federal securities laws comprise the basis of the SEC’s complaint against Gautam and Sagar Adaani alleging violation of the antifraud provisions. ”The complaint also, by legal estoppel, seeks permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and officer and director bars,” it added. The charges come with much drama for the Adaani Group in the last year after short-seller Hindenburg Research released a report that accused it of using offshore tax havens inappropriately — which it has denied. Autam and Sagar Adaani were engaged in the bribery scheme during a September 2021 note offering by Adaani Green that raised $750m, including approximately $175m from US investors,” the SEC said in a press statement.

“The SEC’s complaint against Gautam and Sagar Adaani charges them with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The complaint seeks permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and officer and director bars,” it added.

The charges follow much turmoil for the Adaani Group last year after short-seller Hindenburg Research issued a report that accused it of using offshore tax havens improperly — which the company has denied.

While Adaani Green Energy was down 17pc, many other stocks of the conglomerate also fell over 10pc. In Thursday’s trade, the group reduced, by 28bn, its firm market capitalization to 141 bn. The group’s market value last year, before the Hindenburg report, was $235 billion.

Adaani dollar bonds lost ground with the price, which declined between 3-5c on dollar bonds for Adaani Ports and Special Economic Zone.

‘Numero Uno’, ‘The big man’

The unsealed criminal charges of the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York revealed that some of the conspirators had private code for Gautam Adani as ‘Numero uno’, ‘the big man’ while Sagar Adani used his cellphone to track details about the bribes.

Other five defendants were accused of conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a US law against bribery, while four others were accused of essentially the same but the obstruction of justice.

Currently, none of the defendants is in custody, US Attorney Breon Peace’s spokesperson in Brooklyn added. It is comparatively effortless to recognize the fact whether the Indian entrepreneurial tycoon Gautam Adani is in India or not. Its chairman Gautam Adani is said to be worth $69.8bn, Forbes puts him as the second richest man in India after Mukesh Ambani. The best example is Michael Gordon, the owner of Burger King, who few billionaires were formally accused in the United States of criminal wrongdoing. showed some conspirators referred privately to Gautam Adani with the code names “Numero uno” and “the big man,” while Sagar Adani allegedly used his cellphone to track specifics about the bribes.

Five other defendants were charged with conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a US anti-bribery law, and four were charged with conspiring to obstruct justice.

None of the defendants is in custody, a spokesperson for US Attorney Breon Peace in Brooklyn said. Gautam Adani is believed to be in India.

Gautam Adani is worth $69.8bn according to Forbes magazine, making him India’s second-richest man after Mukesh Ambani. He is one of the few billionaires formally accused in the United States of criminal wrongdoing.

Adani shares motivation An Australia-listed investment firm whose main investor is Adani, known as GQG Partners, lost 20pc of its value, which was its biggest ever one-day drop since it started floating in the market three years ago. It said in a statement that it was aware of the charges.

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