Indian billionaire Adani charged in US with bribery

Gautam Adani, the billionaire chairperson of Indian conglomerate Adani Group and one of the world's richest people, has been indicted in New York over his role in a $265 million bribery scheme, according to US prosecutors.

US authorities said Adani and seven other defendants, including his nephew Sagar Adani, agreed to pay the bribes to Indian government officials to obtain contracts expected to yield $2 billion of profit over 20 years, and develop India's largest solar power plant project.

A judge has issued arrest warrants for Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani and prosecutors plan to hand those warrants to foreign law enforcement, court records show.

Prosecutors also said the Adanis and another executive at Adani Green Energy, former CEO Vneet Jaain, raised more than $3 billion in loans and bonds by hiding their corruption from lenders and investors.

Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Jaain were charged with securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy, and the Adanis were also charged in a US Securities and Exchange Commission civil case.

Fallout for the Adani empire, which was rocked by a short-seller attack in February 2023, was immediate with shares in conglomerate's listed companies stocks tumbling between 10 per cent and 20 per cent.

Adani Green Energy also cancelled plans on Thursday to raise $600 million in US dollar-denominated bonds.

Gautam Adani, 62, is worth $69.8 billion according to Forbes magazine. He is one of the few billionaires formally accused in the United States of criminal wrongdoing.