The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has unveiled a bribery scheme allegedly involving Gautam Adani and other Adani Group executives, accusing them of offering $250 million (\u20b92,029 crore) in bribes to Indian government officials. Andhra Pradesh has emerged as a key focus of the investigation.<\/p>\n
According to the indictment, the bribes were allegedly aimed at securing Power Sale Agreements (PSAs) for state electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs), particularly in Andhra Pradesh. Foreign Official, identified as a high-ranking official in Andhra Pradesh from May 2019 to June 2024, is alleged to have received approximately \u20b91,750 crore ($228 million) in promised payments.<\/p>\n
The controversy comes in the context of a high-profile agreement between the Andhra Pradesh government and the Adani Group. In January 2024, Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani met with then-Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in Davos, Switzerland, where they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a \u20b960,000 crore investment in green energy projects, including a 10,000 MW solar power project and a 3,700 MW pumped hydro solar project.<\/p>\n
According to the DOJ indictment, Gautam Adani personally interacted with Foreign Official in Andhra Pradesh on multiple occasions in 2021 to advance these agreements. Following these interactions, Andhra Pradesh DISCOMs entered into a record-breaking 2.3 GW solar power PSA with SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India) on December 1, 2021.<\/p>\n
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace stated that “the defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars and lied to investors and banks.” The allegations have sparked significant political and financial repercussions, with the Adani Group facing heightened scrutiny over the transparency of its renewable energy ventures.<\/p>\n
Experts are closely monitoring the developments, highlighting the importance of robust anti-corruption mechanisms and stricter oversight in government-corporate partnerships. The fallout from this scandal could reshape how international and domestic corporations engage with Indian state governments, potentially leading to heightened due diligence and more rigorous governance frameworks for large-scale infrastructure and energy projects.<\/p>\n
For Andhra Pradesh and former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the allegations raise questions about the transparency and propriety of the state’s dealings with the Adani Group. The potential political and economic implications will be closely watched as the investigations continue.<\/p>\n
Gautam Adani has been indicted in the U.S. on charges of bribery and fraud linked to a solar energy project, leading to an arrest warrant issued by a New York judge. The allegations involve Adani and seven others agreeing to pay approximately $265 million in bribes to Indian officials to secure contracts expected to yield $2 billion in profits over 20 years. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) claims this scheme violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, with the warrants set to be handed to foreign law enforcement for execution.<\/p>\n
-Sanyogita<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has unveiled a bribery scheme allegedly involving Gautam Adani and other Adani Group executives, accusing them of offering $250 million (\u20b92,029 crore) in bribes to Indian government officials. Andhra Pradesh has emerged as a key focus of the investigation. According to the indictment, the bribes were allegedly aimed at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":295156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,5732],"tags":[352,66359],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n