India
‘Adani code name numero uno; bribery scheme captured’: who is accused in the US indictment? | India News – Times of India
Arrest warrants have been issued in the US for Gautam and Sagar Adani, and prosecutors plan to hand those arrest warrants to foreign law enforcement officials, according to court records cited by Reuters. On Wednesday, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) charged Adanis, former Adani Green CEO Vneet Jaain, and executives of Azure Power and Canadian pension fund CDPQ under the Foreign Corruption Prevention Act (FCPA).
In addition, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused Gautam and Sagar Adani of raising money from US investors through ‘false and misleading statements’. The SEC alleges that they were directly involved in bribing Indian officials to win contracts in favor of Adani Green.
Who is being charged?
- Gautam Adani | Chair,
Adani Green Energy Ltd - Sagar Adani | Executive Director, Adani Green Energy; cousin of Gautam Adani
- Vneet Jaain | Former CEO, Adani Green Energy
- Rajnit Gupta | Former CEO of Azure Power
- Rupesh Agarwal | Chief Strategy & Commercial Officer, Azure Power
- Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal and Deepak Malhotra | Associated with the Canadian pension firm CDPQ
Co-conspirators
- Co-conspirator #1 | British citizen, non-executive chairman of Azure
- Co-conspirator #2 | Senior Indian Director, Azure Power
- Foreign Official #1 | Government official of Andhra Pradesh
What is it about?
The DoJ has filed a criminal complaint alleging that Adani executives orchestrated a $265 million bribery scheme between 2020 and 2024 to secure solar energy contracts in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir and Chhattisgarh.A parallel SEC civil complaint accuses the Adani Group of raising money from U.S. investors while concealing their bribery activities.
Alleged ‘why’ and ‘how’
- Between December 2019 and July 2020, Adani Green and Azure Power received Letters of Award (LoAs) for 12 GW of solar energy from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
- SECI had difficulty signing power purchase agreements (PPAs) due to high tariffs in the LoAs, putting the deals in jeopardy.
- To resolve this, Rs 2,029 crore in bribes were reportedly paid to state officials for signing power supply agreements (PSAs).
Important events
- Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Jammu & Kashmir, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh signed PSAs with SECI (July 2021-February 2022).
- Andhra Pradesh accounted for 7 GW, with Rs 1,750 crore reportedly paid as bribes after Gautam Adani reportedly met the then chief minister in August 2021.
What the indictment reveals
- The bribery scheme was meticulously documented.
- Sagar Adani tracked bribes on his phone, while Vneet Jaain photographed documents detailing bribe amounts.
- Rupesh Agarwal created PowerPoint and Excel files analyzing payments.
Code names used
- Gautam Adani: “Numero Uno”, “Super Aggregator”
- Vneet Jaain: “Snake”, “Numero Uno Minus One”
SEC allegations
The SEC accused Gautam and Sagar Adani of misleading US investors by denying bribery allegations. “The opposite was true,” the SEC stated, demanding a jury trial.Both the DoJ and the SEC highlighted the Adanis’ “personal and intimate involvement” in bribery to influence Indian state officials and secure lucrative contracts.
Bribery breakdown
- Reportedly, Rs 2,029 crore was promised for PSAs in five states.
- Rs 1,750 crore was allocated for Andhra Pradesh alone.
