Indian tycoon Adani targeted by New York judge over corruption charges

The US Attorney’s Office has charged Indian tycoon Gautam Adani with paying bribes. As explained by the federal prosecutor’s office in New York, Adani and other defendants are accused of paying more than 250 million dollars (nearly 238 million euros) in bribes to state agents in India from 2020 to 2024 to secure lucrative contracts. The Adani group of companies strongly denied the allegations.

According to the indictment, Adani and other senior officials of the conglomerate used bribes to secure contracts for the supply of solar power worth two billion dollars over 20 years. One of the supporters is said to have carefully recorded payments offered to state agents using his phone. None of the defendants have been arrested so far, the public prosecutor’s office told AFP news agency.

According to the indictment, Adani and its associates also defrauded investors by raising capital “based on false claims”. In addition, there was an attempt to “conceal the corruption conspiracy” by obstructing government investigations, the US Attorney’s Office said.

The Adanis group of companies denied the allegations. The allegations from the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission are “baseless.” The group announced that it would take “all possible legal steps”.

Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition and leader of the Congress Party in India, Rahul Gandhi, called for “the immediate arrest of Adani”. “But we know that won’t happen because (Narendra) Modi is protecting him,” Gandhi told reporters in New Delhi, referring to the Indian prime minister. The two are considered close friends.

The Adani group of companies includes a number of companies, from mining companies to port and airport operators to the media. In January 2023, founder and chairman Gautam Adani was accused by the US company Hindenburg Research of investing in his own shares using tax havens and thus increasing their price voluntarily. Gautam Adani has always denied these allegations.

mb/hcy