Gautam Adani charged with alleged bribery scheme; hiding plan to bribe Indian officials, says U.S.

SEC charges Adani Group chairman with defrauding American investors and bribing officials in multi-billion-dollar solar energy project scheme.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged billionaire Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of the Adani Group, with allegedly defrauding American investors and bribing officials.

Mr. Adani (62) and his nephew Sagar Adani (30), executives of Adani Green Energy Limited, and Cyril Cabanes, an executive of Azure Power Global Limited, were charged on Wednesday (November 20, 2024) with conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud, as well as substantive securities fraud, for their roles in a multi-billion-dollar scheme to obtain funds from U.S. investors and global financial institutions through false and misleading statements.

The SEC alleged that the bribery scheme was orchestrated to enable renewable energy companies Adani Green and Azure Power to capitalise on a multi-billion-dollar solar energy project awarded by the Indian government.

The complaint charges them with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and seeks permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and officer and director bars.

“During the alleged scheme, Adani Green raised more than $175 million from U.S. investors, and Azure Power’s stock was traded on the New York Stock Exchange,” the SEC said in a statement.

Simultaneously, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York unsealed criminal charges against Mr.Adani and Sagar Adani, Cabanes, and others linked to Adani Green and Azure Power.

The federal indictment unsealed in a federal court in Brooklyn charges five others with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with the bribery scheme, involving one of the world’s largest solar energy projects.