The Adani Group and several Indian states, including Jammu Kashmir, are under investigation following a U.S. indictment accusing the conglomerate of bribing Indian officials to secure lucrative solar power contracts, India Today reported.
The indictment claims that the Adani Group funneled $265 million in bribes, a substantial portion of which was allegedly directed towards officials in Andhra Pradesh.
According to the report, these payments were made to facilitate deals with state-run electricity distribution companies between 2021 and 2023.
States named in the indictment include Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Jammu Kashmir, and Andhra Pradesh.
The latter was governed by Jagan Reddy’s YSR Congress during the alleged bribery period.
At the heart of the case is a contract secured by Adani Green Energy and Azure Power to supply 12 gigawatts of solar energy to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
However, SECI faced difficulties in selling the energy due to its high cost, prompting the Adani Group to allegedly use bribes to persuade various state governments, including Jammu and Kashmir, to purchase the energy, all while concealing the transaction from U.S. banks and investors funding the project.
The indictment reveals that $228 million of the bribes were allegedly paid to a high-ranking official in Andhra Pradesh, referred to as “Foreign Official #1.”
Gautam Adani, the chairman of the Adani Group, is said to have met this official multiple times in 2021 to secure agreements that resulted in Andhra Pradesh’s power distribution companies purchasing 7 gigawatts of solar energy—the largest deal of its kind.
Following Andhra Pradesh, other states such as Odisha, Jammu Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, and Tamil Nadu reportedly agreed to purchase solar power between mid-2021 and early 2022.
Prosecutors have noted that encrypted communications and code names, including “Numero Uno” for Gautam Adani, were used to conceal the illicit scheme.
U.S. authorities have issued arrest warrants for Gautam Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, and plan to involve international law enforcement in the investigation.
The Adani Group has vehemently denied the allegations, calling them “baseless” and pledging to pursue all available legal options to clear its name.