Gautam Adanichairman of Indian conglomerate Adani Group and one of the richest people in the world, has been indicted in New York over an alleged multibillion-dollar fraud scheme, US prosecutors said on Wednesday (20).
Authorities accused Adani and two other Adani Green Energy executives, his nephew Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain, of agreeing between 2020 and 2024 to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to obtain energy supply contracts. solar energy that was expected to bring in $2 billion in profits.
In reaction to the news, the Indian group’s main company, Adani Enterprises, fell 23% on the Indian stock market. Others such as Adani Green Energy and Adani Energy fell 18.95% and 20% respectively. Adani Power lost 14.48%, and Adani Port lost 20%. The group’s retail arm, Adani Wilmar, fell 10%.
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Prosecutors said the renewable energy company also raised more than $3 billion in loans and bonds during that period based on false and misleading statements.
Five other people were charged with related criminal conspiracy, including two executives at another renewable energy company and three employees at a Canadian institutional investor.
According to court records, a judge issued arrest warrants for Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani, and prosecutors plan to turn those warrants over to foreign law enforcement authorities.
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Gautam Adani is worth US$69.8 billion, according to Forbes magazine, making him the 22nd richest person in the world.
(com Reuters)
