Billionaire Gautam S. Adani, Chairman of a leading Indian renewable energy company, and seven senior business executives have been indicted for allegedly orchestrating a $250 million bribery scheme to secure solar energy contracts in India. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York unsealed a five-count criminal indictment that includes charges of securities fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, and obstruction of justice.  

The indictment alleges that Adani, along with Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain, promised over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials between 2020 and 2024. The goal was to secure lucrative solar energy contracts projected to generate more than $2 billion in profits. In doing so, the defendants allegedly provided false and misleading statements to U.S. investors to raise capital through international loans and bond offerings.

The Adani Group has denied the allegations made by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission. They say that the charges are baseless and that they will seek all possible legal recourse. The Adani Group also says that they are committed to maintaining the highest standards of governance, transparency and regulatory compliance.

According to prosecutors, Gautam Adani personally met with Indian government officials to advance the bribery scheme. Incriminating evidence, including bribe-tracking spreadsheets, photographs of bribery details, and related analyses, was allegedly exchanged among the defendants.  

The indictment further claims that the defendants misrepresented their company’s anti-bribery practices in financial disclosures to U.S.-based and global investors. They allegedly secured over $3 billion through fraudulent syndicate loans and bond offerings marketed internationally, including in the United States.  

In addition to bribery, the indictment accuses defendants Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra, and Rupesh Agarwal of obstructing investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These executives allegedly deleted emails, falsified internal investigations, and withheld material information.  

“As alleged, the defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars and Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from U.S. and international investors,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace.

Adani and other defendants also defrauded investors by raising capital on the basis of false statements about bribery and corruption, while still other defendants allegedly attempted to conceal the bribery conspiracy by obstructing the government’s investigation,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy.

The FBI, with support from the DOJ’s Fraud Section and the SEC, led the investigation. The charges include conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), among others.