The US Securities and Exchange Commission has indicted Gautam Adani in an alleged bribery scheme.

• Gautam Adani The US Securities and Exchange Commission accused him of defrauding American investors.
• Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani were charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud.
• Adani and seven other executives are accused of paying bribes to Indian government officials to obtain lucrative contracts.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged billionaire Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of the Adani Group, with allegedly defrauding US investors and bribing government officials.

Adani, 62, his 30-year-old nephew Sagar Adani, an executive at Adani Green Energy Ltd., and Cyril Cabanes, an executive at Azure Power Global Ltd., were charged Wednesday with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, as well as significant securities fraud. their role in a multi-billion dollar scheme to obtain funds from US investors and global financial institutions through false and misleading statements.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleges that the bribery scheme was orchestrated to allow renewable energy companies Adani Green and Azure Power to benefit from a multibillion-dollar solar power project awarded by the Indian government.

The complaint accuses them of violating the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws and seeks permanent injunctions, civil penalties and an officer and director restraining order.

As part of the alleged scheme, Adani Green raised more than $175 million from U.S. investors and shares of Azure Power were traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the SEC said in a statement.

At the same time, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York unsealed criminal charges against Adani and Sagar, Adani, Cabanes and others associated with Adani Green and Azure Power.

A federal indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn charges five other individuals with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with a bribery scheme involving one of the world’s largest solar energy projects.

Federal prosecutors allege that between 2020 and 2024, Adani and his associates paid more than $250 million in bribes to obtain solar energy contracts worth more than $2 billion in projected after-tax profits over approximately 20 years. -year period.

Adani and seven other executives are accused of bribing Indian government officials to secure lucrative contracts and defrauding investors by making false claims of bribery and corruption.

They also allegedly tried to interfere with investigations, according to FBI Assistant Director James Dennehy.

“This indictment alleges schemes to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials, lie to investors and banks to raise billions of dollars, and obstruction of justice,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa Miller.

“These crimes were allegedly committed by senior executives and directors to obtain and finance large government energy contracts through corruption and fraud at the expense of American investors,” she added.

The Justice Department alleged that Adani met personally with an Indian government official several times to promote the bribery scheme, and the defendants held private meetings with each other to discuss aspects of its implementation.

“Defendants frequently discussed their efforts to carry out the bribery scheme, including through the use of an electronic messaging application,” it alleges.

With inputs from PTI.

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