FOUNDER and chairman of Indian ports giant Adani Group, Gautam Adani, has been charged with fraud in US court, after an indictment was unsealed on Wednesday, November 20.

The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said Adani and several other defendants (including Sagar Adani, executive director of Adani Green Energy) have been charged with conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud.

The indictment alleges the defendants agreed to pay more than $250m in bribes to Indian government officials to obtain government solar energy supply contracts, which were projected to yield more than $2bn in profits after tax over a 20-year period.

Gautam Adani himself is alleged to have personally met with an Indian government official to advance the bribery scheme. He and his fellow defendants documented and discussed their efforts through mobile phones, the office said.

Adani Group operates several of India’s biggest ports, including Mundra in Gujarat. But the company has divisions involved in mining, food products, defence and energy.

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Denehy said Adani and the other defendants “also defrauded investors by raising capital on the basis of false statements about bribery and corruption, while still other defendants allegedly attempted to conceal the bribery conspiracy by obstructing the government’s investigation”.

US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace reiterated that his office was “committed to rooting out corruption in the international marketplace and protecting investors from those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of the integrity of our financial markets”.

Peace said Adani lied about the bribery scheme to secure capital from US and international investors.

An Adani Group spokesperson called the allegations “baseless” and denied the charges, promising that “possible legal recourse will be sought”.

“The Adani Group has always upheld and is steadfastly committed to maintaining the highest standard of governance, transparency and regulatory compliance across all jurisdictions of its operations.

“We assure our stakeholders, partners and employees that we are a law-abiding organisation, fully compliant with all laws,” the spokesperson said.

Adani’s share price has tumbled since the indictment was announced, falling more than 20% in value since the National Stock Exchange of India closed on November 19, to 1508 hrs local time on Thursday November 21.

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