Gautam Adani, one of India’s most prominent billionaires, has been indicted in the United States on charges of orchestrating a $250 million bribery scheme and misleading investors. The charges, announced on Wednesday by a federal court in Brooklyn, allege that Adani and senior executives of his conglomerate, the Adani Group, engaged in corrupt practices to secure lucrative renewable energy contracts.
According to the indictment, Adani and his associates allegedly paid or planned to pay bribes to Indian government officials to win contracts worth billions, with projected profits of $2 billion over two decades. U.S. Attorney Breon Peace described the scheme as “an elaborate attempt to exploit corruption and deceive U.S. investors.”
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also filed a parallel civil action, accusing Adani and his associates of violating antifraud provisions of U.S. securities laws. Sanjay Wadhwa, acting director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, claimed that the Adani Group falsely assured investors of ethical business practices, despite evidence of bribery and corruption. The SEC is pursuing penalties and sanctions against the conglomerate.
The investigation, which began in 2022, uncovered alleged attempts by Adani Group executives to obstruct justice. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa Miller accused the defendants of financing massive state energy contracts through fraudulent means, harming U.S. investors in the process.
This is not the first time Adani has faced allegations of financial misconduct. In 2023, a U.S.-based financial research firm accused the Adani Group of stock manipulation and accounting irregularities, which the conglomerate dismissed as “baseless and discredited.”
Adani Group, which operates across sectors including ports, energy, and infrastructure, has been under growing scrutiny for its rapid expansion and alleged political connections. Critics have pointed to Adani’s perceived closeness to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a potential source of undue influence, allegations the businessman has consistently denied.
