NEW DELHI: US prosecutors indicted Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and several others for allegedly orchestrating a Rs 2,000 crore ($265 million) bribery scheme to secure solar power contracts in India.
The charges, including conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), securities fraud, and obstruction of justice, have led to arrest warrants for the Adanis, with US authorities seeking international cooperation.
The indictment claims that Rs 1,750 crore in bribes were paid, with Andhra Pradesh receiving the largest share after a 2021 meeting between Gautam Adani and then-chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The bribes allegedly influenced agreements with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for 7,000 MW of solar power. The SEC also accuses Adani of misleading US investors by denying any involvement in bribery.
The ongoing controversy has hit Adani Group’s stock valuation hard, with Rs 2.45 lakh crore wiped out on Thursday.
Here is how the alleged bribery drama unfolded:
December 2019 - July 2020: Contracts and initial struggles
Azure Power and Adani Green Power secured contracts from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) under the manufacturing-linked scheme.
Azure Power was to supply 4GW of solar power to SECI, aiming to generate $2bn profit over 20 years.
Adani Group was to supply an additional 8GW.
SECI struggled to find state discoms (distribution companies) to purchase the power due to high prices, allegedly prompting the bribery scheme.
March 2021: Alleged false statements and loan raises
Four Adani subsidiaries raised $1.35bn via syndicated loans.
The group was accused of providing false statements regarding its anti-bribery policies and practices.
August 2021 - November 2021: Bribes allegedly offered
August 7, 2021 - November 20, 2021: Gautam Adani and his team allegedly met with government officials in Andhra Pradesh to sign power sale agreements (PSAs) between SECI and the state government.
Bribes totaling Rs 2,029 crore were allegedly offered to government officials, with around Rs 1,750 crore going to Foreign Official #1 (Andhra official) for the PSA.
July 2021 - February 2022: expansion of PSAs
Discoms in Odisha, J&K, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra entered into PSAs with SECI.
September 2021: Bonds issued in the US
September 8, 2021: Adani Group issued $750 million bonds in the US.
December 2021: Andhra power agreement
December 2021: Andhra Pradesh agreed to purchase 7GW of solar power.
April 2022: Azure CEO's resignation and bribe discussions
April 25, 2022: Before a meeting with Gautam Adani, Azure CEO Ranjit Gupta and a senior executive (Co-conspirator #2) shared a photo showing Azure owing Rs 638 crore to Adani Green for bribes paid to secure power purchase agreements.
April 26, 2022: Azure Power requested the resignation of CEO Ranjit Gupta and Co-conspirator #2.
April 29, 2022: Investor representatives from CDPQ met with Adani and Azure leadership in Ahmedabad after Gautam Adani sought a meeting with new leadership.
Discussions on bribery scheme
The meeting discussed how the bribery scheme was implemented and approved by Canadian investors.
Azure was allegedly paying Rs 25 lakh per MW for securing PSAs, totaling nearly 3GW of power.
Gautam Adani personally involved in the bribery discussions, with plans to pay bribes to secure PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements).
une 2022: Azure's return of projects
June 14, 2022: In another meeting in Ahmedabad, Co-conspirator #1 revealed Azure would return 2.3GW of SECI projects, with an understanding that Adani or its subsidiary would take over the project.
Azure also agreed to pay its share of the bribe for securing PSAs for 650MW.
November 2022: Azure board clears withdrawal from contract
November 22, 2022: The Azure board cleared plans to seek withdrawal from the 2.3GW contract with SECI, though they were kept in the dark about bribes.
March 2023: FBI actions
March 17, 2023: FBI special agents, backed by search warrants, took custody of Sagar Adani’s electronic devices.
A year later, both Gautam and Sagar Adani denied any knowledge of the bribery investigation.
December 2023: Further loan raises
December 5, 2023: Five Adani project companies raised $1.36bn in syndicated loans.
March 2024: Increased scrutiny and communications
March 12, 2024: Three Adani SPVs raised $409 million via bonds.
March 18, 2024: Gautam Adani emailed himself each page of the search warrant.
March 18, 2024: SECI wrote to Azure and Adani about the reallocation of the 2.3GW PPA.
March 28, 2024: Azure withdrew from the 650MW PPAs.
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