Just after the Adani Group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, rebounded from an attack by US short seller Hindenburg Research, which accused it of stock manipulation and fraud, the conglomerate suffered a major blow when US prosecutors Gautam charged. Adani for helping to set up a $250 million bribery scheme.

Shares of Adani Group companies fell as much as 20% on Thursday after Adani and seven others were indicted in the United States. Prosecutors alleged the group bribed Indian officials to obtain solar power contracts. U.S. prosecutors have charged Adani and others because they allege the defendants concealed plans to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to win energy contracts solar as they sought to raise funds from American investors.

The Adani mega deal that sparked controversy

US prosecutors have claimed that the seeds of the bribery scheme involving Adani were sown between December 2019 and July 2020, the New York Times reported. Adani Green Energy and another renewable energy company listed on the New York Stock Exchange have won contracts with the Solar Energy Corporation of India, a state-owned company trying to increase the use of renewable energy in the country.

Adani Green Energy proclaimed at the time that it had won “the world’s largest solar prize,” the New York Times reported. It was a $6 billion investment in solar energy, and over 20 years it was expected to generate more than $2 billion in after-tax profits, according to the indictment. The New York Times report says there was an unintended consequence: Energy was expensive for Indian states and the Solar Energy Corporation of India was having trouble finding customers to sign on. Adani and his associates used bribes to convince Indian states to use their solar power, prosecutors said.

In June 2020, Adani Green Energy Limited had said it had won the first such manufacturing-related solar deal from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). “As part of this award, AGEL will develop 8 GW of solar projects as well as a commitment that will see Adani Solar establish 2 GW of additional solar cell and module manufacturing capacity. world, will require a one-time investment of Rs 45,000 crore (US$ 6 billion) and will create 400,000 direct and indirect jobs. It will also displace 900 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. life,” said a company press release. “This is the largest investment announced since the launch of Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (Self Reliant India Program). in India, continuing to play a global leadership role in the fight against climate change and reinforcing the commitment that the Indian Prime Minister made to the world at the COP 21 summit in Paris in 2015,” said the Commenting on the agreement, Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, said: “We are honored to have been selected by SECI for this historic solar award. can be considered independent economic development priorities and job creation as well as decarbonization must be simultaneous goals India pledged at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris to lead the revolution. climate and is today the leader among the eight countries on track to respect their commitments at COP21.

“It is a foregone conclusion that renewable energy will become the world’s cleanest and most economical fuel and the Adani Group intends to play a leading role in this journey. This award is another step in our country’s climate change promise to the world. as well as enabling the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (Self-Reliant India Agenda) of our nation. This is another step towards realizing our group’s vision of nation building.

TOI had reported in November 2019 that Adani Green had taken the lead in the SECI manufacturing-related solar tender by proposing to set up 1,000 MW of solar manufacturing capacity and a solar power project of 4,000 MW. Azure Power had opted for a kit manufacturing capacity of 500 MW. The call for tenders had attracted offers for twice the proposed capacity. This is the first oversubscription of a renewable energy capsule in almost two years, during which auctions for solar and wind projects of more than 10,000 MW had to be extended, postponed or renewed in the absence of response from investors. Market participants said the safeguard duties against cheap imports, largely made in China or by Chinese companies in Southeast Asia that are massively subsidized by Beijing, combined with several other measures, have enthused market participants. bidders.

The accusations against Adani and his accomplices

Below are some of the key charges in the 54-page indictment filed by U.S. prosecutors against Adani and seven others.

Gautam Adani personally met with Indian authorities on numerous occasions to further the corruption conspiracy.

The co-conspirators met in person and communicated via an email application to discuss the execution, including in the United States. They built extensive electronic documentation of their corrupt efforts, including using cell phones to locate the locations and recipients of promised bribes and photographing a document summarizing the amounts offered. They prepared PowerPoint and Excel presentations to determine which payment option was best.

Some group members destroyed evidence to hide their participation in the project, including PowerPoint analysis and electronic communications. Gautam Adani emailed himself photos of every page of the search warrant and grand jury subpoena that the FBI delivered to his nephew and co-defendant Sagar Adani.

(With contribution from agencies)