US prosecutors target Indian energy mogul in massive solar power scheme
US authorities charge Indian business-man Gautam Adani in $265 million solar power bribery case. Investigation reveals complex scheme involving multiple Indian states and power agreements
Gautam Adani faces serious legal trouble as US prosecutors bring charges in a huge solar-power bribery case (which happened about a year ago). The case includes his nephew Sagar Adani and ex-CEO Vneet Jaain of Adani Green Energy Ltd
Around 4 years ago Indiaʼs SECI made deals with Adani Green Energy and Azure Power Global for 12GW solar power; however finding buyers wasnt easy due to costs. The Adani group then set-up a wide-ranging plan to pay-off govt officials
The scheme worked like this:
- Multiple meetings with state officials
- Promises of huge pay-offs (about $207M to one state)
- Deals with power firms in 5 different states
- Complex money movement between companies
Last spring FBI agents got Sagar Adanis devices with a search warrant - this was a big break in the case. The whole thing got more complex when investigators found out about $3.5B that was raised using not-so-true statements about company practices
Azure Powers involvement became clear when their CEO had to step down in mid-2022; after that Gautam Adani worked on a plan to move some power agreements around. The authorities say that by next March SECI will move 2.3GW of deals to Adanis company
The Adani Group says its all made-up accusations but US Securities and Exchange Commission isnt buying it - theyʼve filed extra charges against the main people involved (including an Azure Power exec named Cyril Cabanes)
