United States Department of Justice said a five-count criminal indictment was unsealed in Brooklyn federal court, charging Gautam S Adani, Sagar R Adani, and Vneet S Jaain—executives of Adani Group—with conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud.
The charges stem from a multi-billion-dollar scheme to mislead US investors and global financial institutions, said the US DOJ in a press release on Wednesday (20 November).
Additional charges were filed against Ranjit Gupta, Rupesh Agarwal, Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, and Deepak Malhotra for conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in a bribery scheme involving one of the world’s largest solar energy projects.
The indictment alleges that between 2020 and 2024, the defendants conspired to pay Rs2,100 crore ($250 million) in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy supply contracts projected to yield post-tax profits exceeding Rs16,800 crore ($2 billion) over 20 years.
US Attorney Breon Peace stated, "The defendants orchestrated an elaborate bribery scheme to secure lucrative contracts and then misled investors while raising capital. This office remains committed to eradicating corruption and safeguarding the integrity of our financial markets."
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa H. Miller added, "This indictment exposes a network of corruption and deception at the expense of US investors. The Justice Department will rigorously pursue such violations, irrespective of where they occur."
Scheme details
Gautam S Adani allegedly held direct meetings with Indian officials to advance the bribery scheme, while others tracked and analysed the bribes via electronic communications and financial summaries.
For instance, Sagar R Adani documented bribe specifics on his phone, while Vneet S Jaain photographed documents detailing bribe allocations. Rupesh Agarwal prepared detailed analyses outlining payment concealment strategies.
Simultaneously, the defendants misrepresented the company’s anti-bribery policies to US and global investors.
Over $2 billion in syndicated loans and $1 billion in bond offerings were raised on the basis of falsified statements. Financial statements submitted to international institutions were also allegedly fabricated.
Obstruction of justice
The indictment further accuses Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra, and Rupesh Agarwal of obstructing investigations by deleting key evidence, misleading internal inquiries, and providing false statements to US authorities.
These actions were aimed at concealing the bribery conspiracy.
Investigation and prosecution
The investigation was led by the FBI’s Corporate, Securities and Commodities Fraud Unit and the International Corruption Unit, with assistance from the SEC’s regional offices.
The case is being prosecuted by the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Charges remain allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The investigation highlights US authorities’ commitment to tackling corruption and fraud in global markets.
