Adani Reacts To US Bribery Charges, Cancels Planned USD Bond Offering

In response to charges filed by U.S. prosecutors linking Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and other senior executives to an alleged bribery scheme, Adani Green Energy has decided to halt its proposed USD-denominated bond offerings. The company made this announcement in an exchange filing on Thursday.

The filing detailed that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had brought a criminal indictment and a civil complaint, respectively, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The charges name Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and Vneet Jaain, members of Adani Green Energy's Board, as defendants. The DOJ’s indictment specifically includes Vneet Jaain, accusing him of involvement in criminal activities related to the alleged scheme.

"In light of these developments," Adani Green Energy stated, "our subsidiaries have decided not to proceed with the proposed USD-denominated bond offerings."

US prosecutors charge Gautam Adani and others in alleged Solar Energy contract bribery case

Adani Green says, "The United States Department of Justice and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission have issued a criminal indictment and brought a civil complaint,… pic.twitter.com/uoBDJPuhOE

— ANI (@ANI) November 21, 2024

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York unsealed a five-count criminal indictment that charges the Adani executives with conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud, as well as substantive securities fraud. According to the indictment, the executives played a key role in orchestrating a multi-billion-dollar scheme to secure funds from U.S. investors and global financial institutions by making false and misleading statements.

The indictment also charges former executives of a renewable energy company, Ranjit Gupta and Rupesh Agarwal, and former employees of a Canadian institutional investor—Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, and Deepak Malhotra—with conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with the bribery scheme.

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace stated that the defendants, including Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani, and Vneet S. Jaain, orchestrated a bribery scheme aimed at securing lucrative government contracts in India. They allegedly misled U.S. and international investors to raise capital, while lying about their involvement in the bribery.

Peace said that the defendants undermined the integrity of global financial markets, defrauding investors by raising capital based on false statements concerning bribery and corruption.

"The business executives allegedly bribed Indian government officials to secure contracts that would benefit their businesses," said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Dennehy.

He added that some defendants also obstructed investigations by federal agencies like the FBI, DOJ, and SEC.
The investigation was led by the FBI's Corporate, Securities and Commodities Fraud and International Corruption Units, with the U.S. government’s case being handled by the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Criminal Division's Fraud Section.

The U.S. Attorney’s office noted that the charges against the executives are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.