New Delhi: Embattled billionaire Gautam Adani and his aides have not been charged under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, an Adani Group entity said Wednesday, adding that they faced three other charges, including securities and wire fraud that are punishable with monetary fines.
The US Department of Justice’s (US DOJ) indictment filed in a New York Court last week does not mention Gautam Adani, founder chairman of the ports-to-energy conglomerate, his nephew Sagar, or Vneet Jaain in any count related to conspiracy to violate the FCPA, Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), said in a stock exchange filing.
AGEL is at the heart of the allegation of $265-million bribes being paid to Indian officials to secure solar power sale contracts that could benefit bring in $2 billion of profits over 20-year period to the firm.
The three — executives at AGEL — have only been charged with securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and securities fraud, the company said. In general, the penalties for such charges are less severe than bribery.
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Gautam and Sagar also face a civil complaint over violation of sections of the Securities Act, and aiding and abetting Adani Green to violate the Act, the company said.
Adani Group had last week denied all allegations as baseless, and said it would seek legal recourse to defend itself.
The FCPA makes it a crime for a company or person with US links — such as a public listing, American investors or a joint venture — to pay or offer something of value to another government’s officials for favourable treatment. While none of the Adani group firms trade in the US, some of them like AGEL do have American investors invested in equity or debt.
“Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain have not been charged with any violation of the FCPA in the counts set forth in the indictment of the US DOJ or civil complaint of the US SEC.
“These directors have been charged on three counts in the criminal indictment namely alleged securities fraud conspiracy, alleged wire fraud conspiracy, and alleged securities fraud,” it said.
The US DOJ and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) have issued a criminal indictment and brought a civil complaint in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain.
“The indictment does not specify any quantum of any fine/penalty,” the company said.
Former attorney general and senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi backed Adani Group’s claims saying in his assessment there are five charges or counts and Adani and his aides have not been charged under Count 1 or 5 which deal with allegations of ‘conspiracy to violate the FCPA’ and ‘conspiracy to obstruct justice’ respectively.
Adani and his aides have been charged under other Counts which relate to securities and bonds.
He said the indictment — equivalent to a chargesheet filed in an Indian court — does not name a single person who was paid a bribe.
Senior Supreme Court advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, too, said there is no offence in the indictment against the Adanis or AGEL.
Both lawyers are part of Adani’s defence team.
AGEL in the filing said the civil complaint alleges that the executives violated certain sections of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Act of 1934, and to have aided and abetted AGEL’s violation of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Act of 1934.
“Although the complaint prays for an order directing the defendants to pay civil monetary penalties, it does not quantify the amount of penalty,” it added.
DOJ has alleged that between 2020 and 2024, senior executives of Adani Green, Azure Power and CDPQ (Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a Canadian institutional investor and Azure’s largest shareholder) participated in a scheme to bribe Indian government officials to ensure the execution of lucrative solar energy supply contracts with Indian government entities.
During the same period, senior executives of Adani Green conspired to misrepresent the company’s anti-bribery practices (to US-based investors and international financial institutions) and concealed from those investors and institutions their bribery of Indian government officials to obtain billions of dollars in financing for green energy projects, including the corrupt solar energy supply contracts.
In addition, senior executives of Azure Power and CDPQ conspired to obstruct the US government’s investigations into the bribery scheme.
Those charged in Count 1 are Ranjit Gupta, Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra and Rupesh Agarwal. Those charged in Count 5 are Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra and Rupesh Agarwal.
Adani Group companies have lost about $54 billion in market capitalisation since the US indictment.
Also, international credit rating agencies, including Moody’s and Fitch, have downgraded their outlook on several Adani firms. These downgrades are based on anticipated increased capital costs and weakened access to funding due to the legal challenges.
Another fallout was AGEL cancelling a USD 600 million debt raising through green bonds despite it being subscribed over three times.
The DOJ indictment appeared exactly on the day, AGEL launched its bonds.
French oil major TotalEnergies, which holds investments in AGEL and Adani Total Gas, has halted new investments in Adani firms.
US International Development Finance Corporation has announced that it is reviewing its $550-million port development loan to the Adani-led consortium developing CWIT, a container terminal in Colombo Port. The agency said it is assessing the implications of the indictments on the project’s integrity and compliance.
Investment firm GQG Partners, which invested in Adani Group firms as they were hammered following damning allegations of fraud levelled by Hindenburg Research, has seen a drop in value of its holding in the conglomerate.
US investment bank Jefferies, a significant supporter of the Adani Group, is reconsidering its relationship following the charges. This reassessment reflects concerns over reputational risks and compliance issues.
PTI
