US prosecutors charged billionaire Indian industrialist Gautam Adani with paying hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes and hiding the payments from investors on Wednesday ( Nov 20 ), according to a statement released on the case.
The president of Adani Group, who has an extensive business empire that includes coal, airports, cement, and media, has recently been stung by allegations of corporate fraud and a stock crash.
Authorities alleged Adani, his brother Sagar Adani, Adani Green Energy, and Vneet Jaain that they had agreed to pay more than US$ 250 million in money to American government officials in exchange for contracts slated to bring in US$$ 2 billion in profits over the course of 20 years.
The alternative energy company, according to the prosecution, even allegedly made false and deceptive remarks during this time that resulted in more than US$ 3 billion in loans and bonds.
None of the many accused in the case, including Adani, are in prison, the attorney’s office told AFP.
One of Adani’s alleged accomplices, according to the prosecution, used his phone to properly track pay payments.
According to Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa Miller,” This accusation alleges plans to pay over US$ 250 million in money to American government officials, to rest to investors and banks to increase billions of dollars, and to hinder justice.”
A prosecutor has issued arrest warrants for Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani, according to court documents, and prosecutors intend to execute those permits on international law enforcement.
“FEAR OF Duress”
The FBI’s James Dennehy claimed that Gautam Adani and seven different business professionals allegedly bribed the American state to obtain attractive deals to gain their firms, while another defendants allegedly attempted to defuse the corruption plot by obstructing the government’s investigation.
A self-described shy, Adani keeps a low page and often speaks to the media, generally sending commanders to top corporate events.
Adani was born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat condition, to a middle-class home but dropped out of school at 16 and moved to monetary investment Mumbai to find work in the state’s attractive gem trade.
He branched out into the export trade in 1988 after a short stint in his brother’s plastics company.
Seven years later, he received a contract to construct and run a commercial shipping port in Gujarat.
Adani Group’s rapid expansion into capital-intensive businesses previously raised alarms, with Fitch subsidiary and market researcher CreditSights warning in 2022 it was “deeply over-leveraged”.
A blatant report from US investment firm Hindenburg Research in 2023 claimed the conglomerate had engaged in “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud schemes over the course of decades.”
Hindenburg said a pattern of “government leniency towards the group” stretching back decades had left investors, journalists, citizens and politicians unwilling to challenge its conduct” for fear of reprisal”.