Gautam Adani indicted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with fraud, bribery, and corruption for allegedly defrauding American investors and bribing officials. File photo
| Photo Credit: AP

Gautam Adani along with seven others that includes his nephew Sagar Adani have been indicted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with fraud, bribery, and corruption for allegedly defrauding American investors and bribing officials. As per the SEC, the bribery scheme was orchestrated to enable renewable energy companies Adani Green and Azure Power to capitalise on a multi-billion-dollar solar energy project awarded by the Indian government.

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A total amount of $265 million was to be paid in bribes to Indian government officials to obtain contracts that were expected to yield a profit of approximately $2 billion over the period of 20 years while developing India’s largest solar power plant project. Vneet Jaain, former CEO of Adani Green Energy had allegedly raised more than $3 billion in loans and bonds as well.

Here are the names of the seven defendants other than Gautam Adani:

Sagar S. Adani

Sagar Adani is a nephew of Gautam Adani and was the Executive Director Adani Green Energy, the firm against whom the US SEO has initiated a probe. The US court has charged Sagar of trying to bribe officials of various state-owned power distribution companies in order to get contracts to supply solar power to the region. The court accused Sagar of using his mobile phone to track specific details of the bribes offered and promised to government officials.

Vineet Jain aka Vneet S. Jaain

Jaain was the Chief Executive Officer of the Adani Green Energy from July 2020 through May 2023 and the Managing Director of the firm’s Board of Directors from July 2020 through the present. A five-count criminal indictment was unsealed against him in the federal court for allegedly committing securities and wire fraud.

Ranjit Gupta

Ranjit Gupta was the CEO of the U.S. Issuer and the CEO and Managing Director of the U.S. Issuer’s Subsidiary from approximately July 2019 through April 2022. He was charged with conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a US anti-bribery law.

Rupesh Agarwal

Rupesh Agarwal, a former consultant for the U.S. Issuer and its subsidiary, has also been accused of conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a U.S. anti-bribery law.

Cyril Cabanes

Cyril Cabanes, who holds a dual citizenship of Australia and France residing in Singapore, was employed by the Canadian investment firm Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec from February 2016 to October 2023. The Canadian pension fund was an investor in Adani subsidiary. He also served as a Non-Executive Director on the company’s boards from January 2017 to October 2023. Cabanes has been charged with conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a U.S. anti-bribery law.

Saurabh Agarwal

Saurabh Agarwal was also hired by Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec and he reported to Cyril Cabanes, one of the defendants in the case from May 2017 to July 2023. He has been charged for corrupt practices and bribery.

Deepak Malhotra

Deepak Malhotra was another Indian hired by the Canadian investor company Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec from September 2018 through October 2023 who also served as the Non-Executive Director of the Boards of Directors of the U.S. Issuer and the U.S. Issuer’s Subsidiary during the same period. He also faces charges of corruption and bribery in the indictment by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Following the indictment, a New York judge has issued a warrant for Mr . Adani’s arrest, media reports said. According to ABC News, quoting court records, the arrest warrant will be given to foreign law enforcement authorities.

Last year, Hindenburg Research, a U.S.-based financial research firm accused Adani and his company of “brazen stock manipulation” and “accounting fraud.” The Adani Group called the claims “a malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations.”

Hindenburg is known as a short-seller, a Wall Street term for traders that essentially bet that prices of certain stocks will fall, and it had made such investments in relation to the Adani Group. The company’s stock plunged as a result and dipped again in August when Hindenburg levied more corruption allegations.