Indian Billionaire Gautam Adani Charged in $250M Bribery Scheme, Fraudulently Securing Contracts and Misleading U.S. Investors for Billions
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York unsealed a five-count criminal indictment today, charging Gautam S. Adani, chairman of a prominent Indian conglomerate, and seven other senior executives in a sweeping bribery and fraud scheme.
The charges include conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud, substantive securities fraud, and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
The indictment alleges the defendants orchestrated over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials and concealed the scheme from U.S. and international investors to secure funding.
According to the indictment, Gautam S. Adani, along with Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain, executives of an Indian renewable energy company, promised more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure lucrative solar energy contracts.
These contracts were projected to generate over $2 billion in after-tax profits over a 20-year period.
The indictment also implicates Ranjit Gupta and Rupesh Agarwal, former executives of a U.S.-based renewable energy company, and Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, and Deepak Malhotra, former employees of a Canadian institutional investor. These individuals are accused of conspiring to bribe officials and obstruct investigations into the scheme.
The bribery scheme allegedly involved high-level meetings, electronic communication, and detailed documentation.
Defendants are accused of using messaging applications and personal devices to discuss and track bribery efforts.
For instance, Sagar R. Adani allegedly recorded bribe details on his phone, while Vneet S. Jaain photographed documents summarizing bribe amounts. Rupesh Agarwal reportedly prepared detailed analyses to plan and conceal payments.
In addition to bribery, Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani, and Vneet S. Jaain are accused of defrauding investors by concealing the scheme.
The indictment alleges they misrepresented their company’s anti-bribery practices and made false and misleading statements in financial disclosures.
These misrepresentations enabled the company to raise billions of dollars through U.S. dollar-denominated loans and bond offerings marketed to American investors.
The schemes targeted international financial institutions and U.S.-based investors, raising over $3 billion through deceptive practices.
The defendants are also accused of falsifying financial statements to hide the bribery activities.
Further allegations claim that Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra, and Rupesh Agarwal conspired to obstruct investigations by the FBI, Department of Justice (DOJ), and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
These individuals allegedly deleted incriminating electronic communications, withheld information from internal investigations, and lied to authorities.
For this conduct, they face conspiracy to obstruct justice charges.
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace emphasized the indictment as a commitment to combat corruption and protect investors. “These defendants orchestrated a scheme to bribe Indian government officials and lied to investors to raise billions. Such actions undermine financial market integrity, and we will hold them accountable,” he stated.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa H. Miller condemned the scale of the alleged corruption, noting that the Criminal Division will aggressively prosecute such cases, regardless of their global reach.
FBI Assistant Director James E. Dennehy stressed the agency’s commitment to exposing international corruption, stating, “The FBI will uncover all corrupt agreements, especially those involving government officials, to protect investors from harm.”
The investigation was led by the FBI’s Corporate, Securities, and Commodities Fraud and International Corruption Units. Prosecutors from the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the Eastern District of New York and the DOJ’s Fraud Section are handling the case, with support from the SEC and DOJ’s Office of International Affairs.
The charges against all defendants are allegations at this stage, and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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