Billionaire Gautam Adani indicted in New York on bribery and fraud charges
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Gautam Adani, chair of Indian conglomerate Adani Group, at a gathering in Gandhinagar, India, in January. Photo: Punit Paranjpe/AFP via Getty Images
Gautam Adani, the billionaire chair of India's conglomerate Adani Group, was indicted in New York on charges related to allegations of "an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials," prosecutors said Wednesday.
The big picture: Adani, one of the world's richest people, and two other executives of a renewable energy firm are accused of conspiring to commit securities and wire fraud.
- The alleged crimes are part of a "multibillion-dollar scheme to obtain funds from U.S. investors and global financial institutions on the basis of false and misleading statements," per a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of N.Y.
Separately, the 62-year-old ally of India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and two others are facing related civil charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which accuses them of "a massive bribery scheme."
Driving the news: A five-count criminal indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn Wednesday accuses Adani and other defendants of agreeing to pay over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials from 2020 to 2024 to obtain solar energy supply contracts with India's government.
- The projects were expected to generate more than $2 billion in profits after tax over a roughly 20-year period, according to prosecutors.
Zoom in: The billionaire, his 30-year-old nephew Sagar Adani, who is the executive director of Adani Green Energy's board, and company executive Vneet Jaain, 53, were all indicted for conspiracies to commit wire fraud and securities fraud and substantive securities fraud.
- Four others who are accused of trying to block investigations into the alleged bribery scheme were charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice.
- All of the accused are Indian citizens except for Cyril Cabanes — a French-Australian former employee of a Canadian institutional investor, who's charged along with two others with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with the alleged bribery scheme.
- Representatives for the Adani Group did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening.
What they're saying: Lisa Miller, deputy assistant attorney general, said in a statement that Adani and seven other business executives "allegedly bribed the Indian government to finance lucrative contracts designed to benefit their businesses."
- She added: "These offenses were allegedly committed by senior executives and directors to obtain and finance massive state energy supply contracts through corruption and fraud at the expense of U.S. investors."
Zoom out: DOJ officials said none of those accused were taken into custody and it's believed that Gautam Adani is currently in India, per Reuters.
Flashback: India's richest man surpasses Bezos as world's second richest person
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
