The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed criminal charges against Gautam Adani, the chairman of the Adani Group, accusing him and other company executives of engaging in a multi-million-dollar bribery scheme involving several Indian state governments. According to a five-count indictment unsealed by the DOJ, Adani and his associates allegedly paid bribes totaling $250 million to officials from state-owned electricity distribution companies (SDCs) across India between July 2021 and February 2022. The indictment names five key states—Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir—as the focal points of the bribery scheme.
Importantly, all of these states were governed by opposition parties during this period, with particular emphasis on Congress-led Chhattisgarh, making this a politically charged issue. The alleged scheme, which involved the payment of bribes in exchange for lucrative solar power agreements, has drawn attention not only for its scale but for the political connections that appear to have facilitated the deals.
The charges against Adani stem from an intricate operation that allegedly involved bribing officials of state electricity distribution companies to facilitate deals related to a large-scale solar power project. The project was part of a broader agreement between Adani Green Energy, Azure Power (a US -based renewable energy company), and the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), aimed at supplying 12 gigawatts (GW) of solar power to the Indian government.
According to the DOJ, Adani and Azure Power, through their state electricity distribution companies, allegedly made illegal payments to secure the contracts, with the bribes totaling a massive $250 million. This amount was spread across several states, with Andhra Pradesh reportedly receiving the largest share.
The indictment also identifies the electricity distribution companies involved, including the Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited, Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO), Odisha’s GRIDCO Limited, Jammu and Kashmir Power Corporation Limited, and the Andhra Pradesh Central Power Distribution Corporation Limited, among others. These entities, which were controlled by the state governments, were considered “instrumentalities” of the Indian government, making their officials and employees “foreign officials” under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
The political backdrop to these allegations has proven to be as significant as the bribery charges themselves. The states mentioned in the indictment—Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir—were all ruled by opposition parties during the period of the alleged bribery scheme. Notably, the Congress party controlled Chhattisgarh, a crucial state in the allegations.
In Chhattisgarh, the Congress government led by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is accused of being complicit in facilitating the bribe payments to its state-owned power distribution company. Similarly, in Odisha, which was governed by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), an ally of Congress, GRIDCO Limited, a state-owned company, allegedly received significant bribes.
Tamil Nadu, under the rule of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), another Congress ally, is also named in the allegations. The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) is accused of accepting bribes as part of the deal. Additionally, Andhra Pradesh, where the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) led the government, also finds itself in the crosshairs due to the large-scale power agreements signed during this period, which allegedly involved bribe payments to state officials.
A total of $250 million in bribes was allegedly paid by Adani and his partners to officials in these states to secure agreements that saw these states procure large amounts of solar power. Andhra Pradesh is said to have received the largest share of these payments, which were used to influence the decision-making process surrounding power purchase agreements (PPAs) with SECI. The U.S. Attorney’s Office claims that the bribes were critical to securing these deals, which amounted to a total of 12 GW of solar power being allocated to Adani Green Energy and Azure Power.
Malviya came down hard on the Congress after Jairam Ramesh demanded a JPC investigation into the matter.
“But be as it may, the essence of the charge is that US and Indian companies agreed to supply 12 GW of power to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). This was subject to SECI entering into PPA with State electricity distribution companies (SDCs). There was a collaboration between Adani Green Energy with a US renewable energy, Azure Power, under which Azure was allotted 4 GW and Adani Green Energy 8 MW,” Malviya said on X.
He pointed out that all states mentioned in the alleged bribery scandsl where those ruled by the opposition.
“Therefore, the Adanis (in collusion with Azure Power; a US firm) paid the equivalent of US $265 million to SDCs based in Odisha (BJD ruled), Tamilnadu (DMK), Chattisgarh (Congress) and Andhra Pradesh (YSRCP) between Jul 21 and Feb 22 (by far the largest to AP),” he added.
“All the States mentioned here were Opposition ruled during that time. So, before you pontificate, answer on the bribes the Congress and its allies accepted,” Amit Malviya added.
The BJP leader also mentioned that an Indian Court can similarly, on legitimate grounds, accuse American firms of bribing US government officials, to deny access to Indian markets.
“Should we then allow the law to take its course and the concerned corporate to defend or plant ourselves in the domestic politics of a foreign country? Don’t get needlessly excited. The timing of the report, just before the Parliament session and Donald Trump’s impending Presidency raises several questions. That the Congress is willing to be a prop in the hands of George Soros and his cabal speaks volumes,” Malviya said on X.
It is always good to read before one reacts. The document you quote says, “The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.”
But be as it may, the essence of the charge is that US and Indian companies agreed… https://t.co/Y3UivigtTx pic.twitter.com/MkMri2fPQs
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) November 21, 2024
He also criticised the Congress party’s ‘hypocrisy’ over their stance on the Adani Group, pointing to past investments and agreements made with the corporate conglomerate by Congress-ruled states.
Taking to social media platform X, Malviya referenced Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s recent “public admission of accepting money” from the Adani Group on November 10, 2024, pointing out that this acknowledgment contradicted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s repeated criticism of the Adani Group.
He further highlighted that the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, led by Uddhav Thackeray, had signed the deal with the Adani Group for the redevelopment of Dharavi, under terms that were later adjusted to protect the interests of Mumbai residents.
Malviya also brought up the connection between Adani and Robert Vadra, the businessman and husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, suggesting that it was important for Rahul Gandhi to recognise the contradictions in his party’s actions.
“On 10th Nov 2024, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy publicly acknowledged accepting money from the Adani Group,” Malviya stated in a post on X.
“Today, Rahul Gandhi was ranting against the same corporate group. Besides, there is a long list of investments and MoUs signed by Congress-ruled states with the Adani Group in the last ten years alone. It was in fact the UddhavThackeray-led MVA that signed off Dharavi’s redevelopment project to the Adani Group on extremely liberal terms, which the MahaYuti had to tighten later to protect the interests of Mumbai and residents of Dharavi. Not to forget close links between Adani and Robert Vadra,” he added.
“Rahul Gandhi must understand that he stands exposed,” Malviya further stated.
Malviya’s statement comes following Rahul Gandhi’s recent criticism during a press conference on Monday where he criticised Gautam Adani and his interest in redevelopment projects in Dharavi, arguing that corporate control over land in Mumbai would change the city’s character and divert resources away from the public.
“On one side, Adani ji is there eyeing Dharavi and Maharashtra’s money. The target of changing the nature of Mumbai, and on the other hand, we have farmers and youth who are dreaming, and the Maharashtra government is breaking their dreams,” Gandhi said.
The Congress leader also mocked PM Modi’s remark of “Ek hain to safe hain” with a safe and from that pulled out two posters. One showed PM Modi with Gautam Adani with “ek hain to safe hain” written on it and another shows the map of Dharavi with “Dharavi ka bhavisha safe nahi” written on it.
Meanwhile, in its first reaction, Adani Green Energy responded by saying that it had decided not to proceed with the proposed USD-denominated bond offerings.
In an exchange filing, Adani Green Energy Limited said, “The United States Department of Justice and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission have issued a criminal indictment and brought a civil complaint, respectively, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, against our Board members, Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani. The United States Department of Justice have also included our Board member, Vneet Jaain, in such criminal indictment. In light of these developments, our subsidiaries have presently decided not to proceed with the proposed USD denominated bond offerings.”
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York, “A five-count criminal indictment was unsealed in federal court charging Gautam Adani, Sagar R. Adani, and Vneet S. Jaain, with conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud and substantive securities fraud for their roles in a multi-billion-dollar scheme to obtain funds from U.S. investors and global financial institutions on the basis of false and misleading statements.”
The indictment also charges Ranjit Gupta and Rupesh Agarwal, former executives of a renewable-energy company with securities that had traded on the New York Stock Exchange (the U.S. Issuer), and Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal and Deepak Malhotra, former employees of a Canadian institutional investor, with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with the alleged bribery scheme.
The US Attorney’s office says that the charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
