Gautam Adani Bribery Case

Gautam Adani, the chairman of the Adani Group, faces serious charges in the United States for allegedly paying bribes to Indian officials. These bribes were supposedly given to secure contracts for a large solar power project in India. The total amount of the bribes is said to be over $250 million. The project in question is related to a bid won by Adani Green Energy, a part of the Adani Group, to supply 8 gigawatts of solar power to a state-owned company in India.

What are the Charges?

• The criminal charges against Gautam Adani in the U.S. are as follows:
  • Foreign Bribery: Paying bribes to foreign officials (Indian officials) to secure business deals.
  • Securities Fraud: Providing false or misleading information to investors about the company's activities.
  • Wire Fraud Conspiracy: Involving the use of electronic communications to carry out fraudulent activities.
• Under U.S. law, companies can be charged for bribing foreign officials, even if the bribery takes place outside the U.S., especially if they are raising money from U.S.-based investors.

The Issue: The Solar Power Project

• In June 2020, Adani Green Energy won a major bid to supply 8 gigawatts of solar power to a state-owned electricity company in India.
• However, there was a problem—local power companies did not want to buy the power at the prices set by the government, which could have led to the deal collapsing.
• To fix this problem, U.S. authorities allege that Gautam Adani decided to bribe local officials to persuade them to buy the electricity. The bribes were allegedly worth $250 million, and the money was meant to secure the solar contracts.

How the Alleged Scheme Unfolded?

• 2020-2021:Adani Green Energy and another company, Azure Power, were awarded major contracts for solar power projects.Local power distributors did not want to buy the power at the agreed prices, which delayed the deal.Adani's associates (including his nephew Sagar Adani) allegedly discussed paying bribes through encrypted messages (like WhatsApp) to push the local distributors to buy the power.
• August 2021:Gautam Adani reportedly promised a $228 million bribe to officials in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh to get them to agree to buy the power.
• December 2021:The Andhra Pradesh government agreed to buy the power, and other states followed suit.The sudden success of the project raised suspicions in the market about how the deals were signed.
• 2022:The S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Justice Department began investigating the payments. They found evidence of misleading statements made to investors about anti-bribery practices.

Legal Actions in the U.S.

• S. Authorities: The Justice Department and SEC allege that Adani’s companies raised billions of dollars from international investors (including U.S. investors) between 2021 and 2024.
• They say that in the process, Adani’s companies lied to investors, falsely claiming that they had not paid any bribes. This, according to the U.S. authorities, was fraud.
• In March 2023, the FBI seized devices from Sagar Adani, Gautam Adani’s nephew, as part of their investigation.
• In October 2024, a grand jury indictment was issued against Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and others involved. The indictment was made public in November 2024, causing a major drop in the value of Adani’s companies (a loss of $27 billion).
• The Extradition Issue: Gautam Adani is believed to be in India and not in U.S. custody. If U.S. authorities want to charge him, they would have to request his extradition (send him to the U.S. for trial).
• Extradition would be complicated, as India would have to decide whether the charges apply under Indian law and whether any political or human rights issues exist.