Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, one of Asia’s richest men, has been charged in the United States with orchestrating a $250 million bribery scheme and concealing it to secure funding from US investors.
The charges, filed on Wednesday in New York, allege a wide-ranging corruption scandal involving Adani and senior executives from his business empire, which spans industries from ports to renewable energy.
According to the indictment, Adani and other executives authorised payments to Indian officials to secure lucrative renewable energy contracts expected to generate over $2 billion in profits over 20 years. US prosecutors also allege that the executives misled investors by concealing these activities.
“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 US and international investors,” said US Attorney Breon Peace in a statement.
He emphasised his office’s commitment to tackling corruption and protecting the integrity of financial markets.
The Adani Group dismissed the accusations, calling them “baseless” and pledged to “seek all possible legal recourse.”
The allegations have sent shockwaves through the Adani Group. Shares of its flagship firm, Adani Enterprises, plummeted 22% on Thursday, with other group companies also suffering significant losses.
Adani Green Energy, the firm at the centre of the allegations, announced it would not proceed with a planned $600 million bond offering.
US investment firm GQG Partners LLC, which has invested nearly $10 billion in the Adani Group, stated it was “monitoring the charges” and considering “appropriate” actions. Moody’s Ratings described the indictment as a “credit negative” development, raising concerns over the group’s ability to access capital and its governance practices.
The indictment has sparked political turmoil in India, where Adani is known for his close ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi called for Adani’s arrest and the removal of Madhabi Puri Buch, the chief of India’s market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Gandhi also accused Modi of shielding Adani, a claim the Prime Minister’s party has denied.
Sambit Patra, a spokesperson for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said, “The law will take its course. It is up to the Adani Group to issue a statement and defend itself.” Modi and his government have not yet commented on the allegations. Opposition parties plan to escalate the issue during the upcoming winter session of parliament, demanding a joint parliamentary investigation.
The US charges come as the latest challenge for Adani, who has faced growing scrutiny since 2023.
That year, US short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the group of “brazen” stock manipulation and accounting fraud. These claims led to a massive market sell-off and an investigation by Sebi, though Adani denied the allegations.
The scandal deepened when Hindenburg accused Sebi’s chief of having links to offshore funds allegedly used by the Adani Group—a claim both Buch and the conglomerate refuted.
Director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Centre, Michael Kugelman, described the US charges as a “body blow” to Adani’s efforts to rebuild his reputation. “For the last nearly two years, Mr. Adani has been trying to rehabilitate his image… but it might be harder for the billionaire to shake off these allegations,” Kugelman said.
The US investigation reportedly began in 2022 and uncovered obstruction during the inquiry. Prosecutors allege that Adani executives raised $3 billion in loans and bonds, including from US firms, based on false statements about anti-bribery practices and concealment of the bribery probe.
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