Explainer: Why arrest warrant has been issued against Gautam Adani in US

US prosecutors have alleged that Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and six other defendants paid bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy supply contracts

Gautam Adani, the founder and chairman of Indian conglomerate Adani Group, alongside seven other executives, has been charged by US prosecutors in an alleged bribery and fraud scheme amounting to more than $250 million.

The US prosecutors have alleged that Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and six other defendants paid bribes to the Indian government officials to secure solar energy supply contracts yielding $2 billion in profits over 20 years. According to a Reuters report, arrest warrants have been issued in the US against Adani and his nephew Sagar, and prosecutors plan to hand those warrants to foreign law enforcement agencies.

The bribery case

Adani and others have been indicted by the US Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) in New York for allegedly violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). A complaint was filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

“As alleged in the indictment, between approximately 2020 and 2024, the defendants agreed to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts with the Indian government, which were projected to generate more than $2 billion in profits after tax over an approximately 20-year period (the Bribery Scheme),” said the official release. The Indian officials were bribed in India only; however, the name of the officials and place were not mentioned.

The charges

The official release of US Attorney Office, Eastern District of New York, stated that on several occasions, Gautam S. Adani personally met an Indian government official to advance the bribery scheme, and the defendants held in-person meetings with each other to discuss aspects of its execution.

“Gautam S. Adani and seven other business executives allegedly bribed the Indian government to finance lucrative contracts designed to benefit their businesses. Adani and 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,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Dennehy.

Why is Adani being prosecuted in America?

Gautam Adani and the others have been indicted for raising money for the bribery scheme from US investors. The press release states these offences were allegedly committed by senior executives and directors to obtain and finance massive state energy supply contracts through corruption and fraud at the expense of US investors. The Criminal Division will continue to aggressively prosecute corrupt, deceptive, and obstructive conduct that violates US law, no matter where in the world it occurs, it states.

Who are other defendants in the case?

The complaint alleges the involvement of Adani and seven other defendents, including his nephew Sagar. The other named defendants are: Ranjit Gupta, former chief executive officer (CEO) of Azure Power Global; Rupesh Agarwal, former chief strategy and commercial officer of Azure Power Global; Cyril Cabanes, former member of the board of directors at Azure Power Global; Vneet Jaain, executive at Adani Green Energy; Saurabh Agarwal and Deepak Malhotra.

Who conducted the investigation?

The investigation was conducted by the FBI New York’s Corporate, Securities and Commodities Fraud and International Corruption Units.  The government’s case is being handled by the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) and Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) matters.

What Adani Group said

Adani Group has denied charges of paying bribe to secure favourable terms for solar power contracts, saying the allegations by US prosecutors are baseless and the conglomerate is compliant with all laws. It said all possible legal recourse will be sought. “The allegations made by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of Adani Green are baseless and denied,” the group spokesperson said in a statement.

Commenting on the development, the spokesperson pointed to the US Department of Justice statement that said “the charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty”.