Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged with orchestrating a $250 million bribery scheme in the United States. The criminal charges were filed on Wednesday in New York, marks a significant blow for the 62-year-old industrialist. Adani group’s vast business empire spans from ports to airports, and to renewable energy as well.
Federal prosecutors allege that Adani, alongside senior executives, engaged in bribing Indian officials to secure lucrative contracts for his renewable energy ventures, which are projected to generate over $2 billion in profits over the next two decades. Moreover after the indictment the Adani Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The charges have sent shockwaves through the financial markets and have shown a major impact. With the shares of Adani Group companies plummeting more than 10% in early trading. For this reason it is staggering $30 billion loss in market capitalization. In light of the allegations. Adani Green Energy has also announced it will not move forward with a $600 million bond offering.
Read More: A Tribute To Cultural Heritage: Assam’s Karimganj Renamed As Sribhumi
The Adani Group has been under scrutiny in the US since 2023. This follows a high-profile report that accused the conglomerate of fraudulent activities. While Adani has denied these claims, the current bribery investigation has been brewing for months.
Prosecutors revealed that their inquiry began in 2022 but found the inquiry obstructed. They assert that Adani’s executives raised $3 billion through loans and bonds from US firms based. These false representations were regarding the company’s anti-bribery measures.
US Attorney Breon Peace in a statement announcing the charges stated that, “As alleged, the defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars and… lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from U.S. and international investors.” He further added saying, “My office is committed to rooting out corruption in the international marketplace and protecting investors from those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of the integrity of our financial markets”
The fallout from these charges is severe, with Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center, describing the allegations as a “body blow” to Adani’s attempts to restore his reputation. “For the last nearly two years, Mr Adani has been trying to rehabilitate his image, and [trying] to show that those earlier fraud allegations levelled by the Hindenburg group were not true, and his company and his businesses had actually been doing quite well” he told in a statement.
Read More: Bomb Cyclone Wreaks Havoc On The Northwest, Leaving 600,000 Without Power
Mr Adani is a close ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has long faced claims from opposition politicians alleging that he has benefited from his political ties, which he denies.The US Attorney positions in the US are appointed by the president. The filing comes just weeks after Donald Trump won election to the White House, pledging to overhaul the US Justice Department. Just last week, Gautam Adani also congratulated Trump on his win. Furthermore he also pledged a hefty amount of $10 billion investment in the US.