Washington: After the accusations against Indian businessman Gautam Adani by the American court, the possibility of tension in India-US relations has also increased. Currently India and America are strategic partners. In such a situation, both the countries are taking bold steps on this issue. The administration of the outgoing President of America Joe Biden has created a big challenge for the newly elected President Donald Trump by making such allegations against the Indian businessman. Now let us tell you what charges have been filed against Gautam Adani in the American court and after this what is the latest statement of the American White House?
Allegations against Gautam Adani
Industrialist Gautam Adani has been charged by US prosecutors with allegedly paying bribes of $265 million (about Rs 2,200 crore) to Indian officials in exchange for favorable terms to win solar power contracts in India. The US Justice Department has accused seven others, including India’s second-richest man Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, of bribing officials in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha to buy expensive solar power. However, the names of the officers have not been disclosed. These projects are expected to generate over $2 billion in profits for the group over 20 years.
America started the investigation in 2022
Prosecutors said the US opened an investigation into the matter in 2022. He alleged that the group raised $2 billion in loans and bonds from American companies, including others, by providing false and misleading information about the company’s anti-bribery activities and policies. Also, the group did not give correct information about the bribery investigation. US law allows foreign countries to pursue allegations of corruption in cases involving their investors or markets. Meanwhile, the Adani group has denied all the allegations and called them baseless.
Adani has allegations against these companies
According to the allegations, Adani Green Energy, the green energy arm of the Adani Group, won the bid to supply 8,000 MW of power in 2021 in a bid invited by the public sector Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). In this tender, New Delhi’s Azure Power won the bid for supply of four gigawatts. Along with Azure Power, officials from Canada’s public pension fund CDPQ are also named in the case. According to the US Attorney’s Office, SECI failed to find a buyer for the power at the price agreed with Adani and Azure. Adani personally met government officials in 2021 and 2022 and offered them bribes to enter into power sale agreements with SECI. Following the promise of bribes, power distribution companies in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh settled with SECI.
Officials were bribed
US prosecutors have alleged that an Andhra Pradesh state government official was paid Rs 25 lakh per megawatt. The state then agreed to buy 7,000 megawatts (7 GW) of solar power from SECI. Odisha also bought 500 MW power in the same way. The Adani Group has denied all the allegations and termed them as baseless. The group canceled Adani Green Energy Ltd’s $600 million bond. Before this issue came to light, this issue was subscribed three times. A group spokesperson said in a statement that the allegations leveled against the directors of Adani Green by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission are baseless. Despite this news, shares of Adani Group continue to fall heavily in the stock market.
26 billion dollar loss
After these allegations, the market valuation of the Adani Group’s ten listed companies has lost nearly $26 billion (Rs 2.19 lakh crore). This is more than double the decline in market valuation since the Hindenburg report in January 2023. Prosecutors have named Adani, 62, and two executives of Adani Green Energy Limited, his nephew Sagar R. Adani and CEO Vineet S. Jain has been charged with conspiracy to defraud investors in the case. All three are accused of carrying out the scheme with the help of five other accused. He faces charges under the Foreign Corrupt Activities Act (FCPA) and obstruction of justice.
Personal allegations against Adani
Personal allegations have also been made against Gautam Adani in this case. Prosecutors have claimed that Adani personally met several times with the government official. According to the prosecutors, the defendants had prepared a large amount of documents in this regard. Respondent Rupesh Aggarwal also prepared an analysis of the bribery scheme using Power Point and Excel. Along with Jain, Gautam and Sagar Adani have been charged with conspiracy and securities fraud in the indictment. Also, Ranjit Gupta and Agarwal, former executives of another publicly traded renewable energy company, have been charged with FCPA violations. Aggarwal and three former employees of the Canadian institutional investor—Cyril Cabans, Saurabh Aggarwal and Deepak Malhotra—have been charged with obstruction of justice and FCPA violations.
White House statement
After this case, now the official residence and office of the US President, the ‘White House’, has said that the relations between India and the US are on a strong foundation. But he is confident of handling the situation arising out of the bribery allegations against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani. White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre said at her daily press conference on Thursday that the administration is aware of the allegations against Adani. “Obviously we are aware of these allegations and I encourage you to contact the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and the DOG (Department of Justice) to get detailed information about the allegations against the Adani group,” Pierre said. The US-India relationship is one that we believe rests on a very strong foundation based on our people-to-people relations and cooperation on a range of global issues,” she said. The press secretary said, “We believe and we Trust that we will resolve this issue the same way we have resolved other issues.”
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