ADANI INDICTED IN US, CHARGES SET TO ECHO IN PARLIAMENT

The conglomerate terms charges “baseless”, to pursue legal recourse

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Billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged by US prosecutors for allegedly being part of an elaborate scheme to pay USD 265 million (about Rs 2,200 crore) bribe to Indian officials in exchange for favorable terms for solar power contracts.

The bombshell allegations, which Adani group denied saying it is innocent until proven guilty, may have a widespread fallout ranging from reputational risk to the conglomerate, inability to raise funds from the US market and the billionaire being forced to restrict his overseas travels to opening a political Pandora's box that will give the Opposition another tool to target the government just as Parliament meets for the winter session, starting Monday.

Adani, India's second-richest man, and seven others, including his nephew Sagar, have been charged by the US Department of Justice with paying bribes to unidentified officials of state governments in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha to buy expensive solar power, potentially earning more than USD 2 billion in profit over 20 years.

Prosecutors said the US started an investigation in 2022. They alleged that the group raised USD 2 billion in loans and bonds, including from US firms, on the backs of false and misleading statements related to the firm's anti-bribery practices and policies as well as reports of the bribery probe.