New Delhi: The Adani Group has called the charges “baseless” and denied them after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Attorney’s Office of the United States have charged billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani over his alleged role in a “massive bribery scheme.” However, government agencies have not issued any official statement on the matter so far.
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) and BSE have remained silent on the issue.
In a press conference on Thursday, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi pointed out that the Adani group is being given institutional protection that has helped the industrial conglomerate to raise its valuation, and that in turn has allowed it to raise huge funds from banks and investors.
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“The SEC’s actions also cast poor light on the manner in which its Indian counterpart, namely SEBI, has gone about investigating violations of securities and other laws by the Adani Group and its abject failure to hold the Group to account for the source of its investments, shell companies, etc.,” Gandhi said.
According to the SEC’s complaint, Gautam and Sagar Adani “orchestrated a bribery scheme that involved paying or promising to pay the equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to Indian government officials” to secure their commitment to purchase energy at above-market rates that would benefit Adani green and Azure Power.
Notably, the US Attorney’s Office noted that in March this year, Individual #2 [names of some individuals and financial institutions have been anonymised in the public copy of the indictment] “emailed employees of Financial Institution #2, Financial Institution #3 and Financial Institution #4 letters that the Indian Energy Company had sent to the National Stock Exchange of India and BSE Limited, both Indian stock exchanges.”
Also read: Adani US Indictment: Jagan Reddy Under Fire Over ‘Foreign Official #1’ for Rs 1,750-Crore Bribe
The scheme was allegedly in play in 2021, when in a note offering, Adani Green claimed that it raised $750 million, including approximately $175 million from US investors. “The Adani Green offering materials included statements about its anti-corruption and anti-bribery efforts that were materially false or misleading in light of Gautam and Sagar Adani’s conduct,” the SEC has said.
The charge against Cyril Cabanes, a former member of Azure Power’s board of directors, is under the US’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). According to the SEC’s complaint, Cabanes allegedly facilitated the authorisation of bribes in furtherance of the scheme while in the United States and abroad.
It is noteworthy that Kenyan President William Ruto has announced on Thursday the immediate cancellation of all deals with the Adani Group, including the contentious takeover of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
