millionaire Gautam Adani He has been charged by US prosecutors over his role in an alleged years-long scheme to pay US$250 million in bribes to Indian officials in exchange for favorable terms for solar energy contracts.
US prosecutors accused Adani, 62, his nephew Sagar and other defendants of paying more than US$250 million in bribes to Indian government officials between 2020 and 2024 to win solar power contracts on terms that potentially Could bring profits of more than US$2 billion.
He alleged that this was hidden from American banks and investors. Adani Group Raised billions of dollars for the project.
US law allows foreign corruption charges to be pursued if they involve some connection to US investors or markets.
Here is the full statement from the US Justice Department
A five-count criminal indictment was unsealed today in Brooklyn federal court, charging Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vineet S. Jain was charged with securities fraud conspiracy. and for their roles in wire fraud and substantive securities fraud. billion dollar plan Obtaining funds from US investors and global financial institutions based on false and misleading statements. The indictment also charges Ranjit Gupta and Rupesh Agarwal, former executives of a renewable-energy company with securities traded on the New York Stock Exchange (a U.S. issuer), and Cyril Cabens, Saurabh Agarwal and Deepak Malhotra, former employees of a Canadian company. Is. Institutional investor, Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vineet S. Jain with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with a bribery scheme involving one of the world’s largest solar power plants. Projects.
Brian Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Lisa H. Miller, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, and James E. Dennehy, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI ) announced the charges.
“As alleged, the defendants hatched an elaborate scheme to bribe Government of India United States Attorney Peace said the officials used Gautam S. “My office is committed to rooting out corruption in international markets and protecting investors from those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of the integrity of our financial markets.”
“This indictment alleges schemes to bribe Indian government officials in excess of $250 million, raise billions of dollars by lying to investors and banks, and obstruct justice,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Miller. “These crimes were allegedly committed by senior officers and directors to obtain and finance large-scale state energy supply contracts through corruption and fraud at the expense of American investors. The Criminal Division will continue to aggressively prosecute corrupt, deceptive, and obstructive conduct that violates U.S. law, no matter where in the world it occurs.
“Gautam S. Adani and seven other business executives allegedly paid bribes to the Indian government to finance lucrative contracts designed to benefit their businesses. “Adani and other defendants also defrauded investors by raising capital based on false statements about bribery and corruption, while other defendants allegedly attempted to conceal the bribery conspiracy by obstructing the government’s investigation,” the FBI in charge Assistant Director Dennehy said. “The FBI maintains its steadfast mission to expose all corrupt agreements, especially those with international governments, and protect investors from related losses.”
As alleged in the indictment, between approximately 2020 and 2024, the defendants agreed to pay bribes of more than $250 million to Indian government officials in order to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts with the Indian government, thereby embezzling $2 billion. It was estimated to generate profits in excess of $100 million. After tax (bribe scheme) over approximately a 20-year period. On several occasions, Gautam S. Adani personally met an Indian government official to further the bribery scheme, and the defendants held individual meetings with each other to discuss aspects of its implementation. Respondents often discussed their efforts to pursue bribery schemeWhich also includes an electronic messaging application. The defendants also extensively documented their corrupt efforts: for example, Sagar R. Adani used his cellular phone to track specific details of bribes given and given to government officials; Vineet S. Jain used his cellular phone to photograph a document summarizing the various bribe amounts that were payable by the US issuer to the Indian energy company for its respective share of the bribe; and Rupesh Aggarwal prepared and distributed to other defendants several analyzes using PowerPoint and Excel, summarizing various options for payment and concealment of bribe payments (Bribery Analysis).
During the same period, Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vineet S. Jain allegedly conspired to misrepresent the anti-bribery and corruption practices of an Indian energy company and conceal the bribery scheme from US investors and international financial institutions to obtain financing. , including financing solar energy supply contracts obtained through bribes. As alleged, Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vineet S. Jain caused the Indian Energy Company and certain of its subsidiaries to raise capital on the basis of (i) making false and misleading statements in relation to two US dollar-denominated syndicates; Loans totaling more than $2 billion from lender groups consisting of international financial institutions and U.S.-based investors; and (ii) two Rule 144A bond offerings totaling more than $1 billion by international financial institutions, which were marketed and sold to investors in the US, among other places. Apart from this, Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vineet S. Jain indicted the Indian energy company for making false statements to the market and investors in its consolidated financial statements and in relation to the bribery scheme.
The indictment further alleges that Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra and Rupesh Agarwal conspired to obstruct the grand jury, FBI and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations into the bribery scheme. Among other things, those four defendants agreed to delete electronic materials related to the bribery scheme, including emails, electronic messages and bribery analyses; forced the board of directors of a U.S. issuer to launch an internal investigation into a bribery scheme and then withheld critical information from that investigation; and falsely denied his involvement in the bribery scheme to representatives of the FBI, DOJ, and SEC in meetings in Brooklyn, New York. Cyril Cabens, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra and Rupesh Agarwal have been charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice for this conduct.
The charges in an indictment are allegations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
In July 2022, Mr. Peace was selected as Chair of the White Collar Fraud Subcommittee for the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC). As leader of the subcommittee, Mr. Peace plays a key role in making recommendations to AGAC to facilitate the prevention, investigation and prosecution of various financially motivated, non-violent crimes, including bribery and fraud.
The investigation was conducted by the Corporate, Securities and Commodities Fraud and International Corruption Units of the FBI New York. The government’s case is being handled by the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the Eastern District of New York Sarah M. Evans, Matthew R. Gelotti and Jessica K. Weigel, Shay Jackson of the Criminal Division, the FCPA Unit of the Fraud Section and Market Integrity of the Fraud Section, and Andrew Tyler of the Major Fraud Unit. Prosecuting the case with the assistance of paralegal experts Liam McNutt, Angelina Tyler and Nadia Singh.
The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA and Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) cases.
The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the SEC’s New York Regional and Boston Regional Offices provided valuable assistance during the investigation.
