5 days Ago
Just after the Adani Group , helmed by billionaire Gautam Adani, bounced back from the attack by American short-seller Hindenburg Research , which had accused it of stock manipulation and fraud, the conglomerate has suffered a massive hit as prosecutors in the United States charged Gautam Adani with helping drive a $250 million bribery scheme. Stocks of Adani Group companies fell up to 20% on Thursday after Adani and seven others faced charges in the US. Prosecutors have alleged that the group bribed Indian officials to secure solar energy contracts.
The US prosecutors have charged Adani and others because they allege the defendants concealed the plan to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to win solar energy contracts as they sought to raise money from US investors. The mega Adani deal that has landed in controversy The US prosecutors have claimed that the seeds for the bribery scheme involving Adani were planted between December 2019 and July 2020, The New York Times reported. Adani Green Energy and another renewable-energy company listed on the New York Stock Exchange won contracts with the Solar Energy Corporation of India, a state-owned company that tries to increase renewable energy use in the country.
Adani Green Energy proclaimed at the time that it had won “the world’s largest solar award”, the NYT reported. It was a $6 billion investment in solar energy, and over 20 years, it was expected to generate more than $2 billion in profit after taxes, according to the indictment. The NYT report says there was an unintended consequence — the energy was expensive for states in India, and the Solar Energy Corporation of India struggled to find customers to sign on.
Adani and his associates used bribes to help convince Indian states to use their solar energy, prosecutors said. Leadership Boosting Startup Revenue with 6 AI-Powered Sales Automation Techniques By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Tabnine AI Masterclass: Optimize Your Coding Efficiency By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Strategy ESG and Business Sustainability Strategy By - Vipul Arora, Partner, ESG & Climate Solutions at Sattva Consulting Author I Speaker I Thought Leader View Program Leadership Building Your Winning Startup Team: Key Strategies for Success By - Dr.
Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Web Development JavaScript Essentials: Unlock AI-Driven Insights with ChatGPT By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance A2Z Of Money By - elearnmarkets, Financial Education by StockEdge View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Generative AI for Dynamic Java Web Applications with ChatGPT By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Office Productivity Microsoft Word Mastery: From Beginner to Expert By - CA Raj K Agrawal, Chartered Accountant View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI for Everyone: Understanding and Applying the Basics on Artificial Intelligence By - Ritesh Vajariya, Generative AI Expert View Program Marketing Modern Marketing Masterclass by Seth Godin By - Seth Godin, Former dot com Business Executive and Best Selling Author View Program Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Pam Moore By - Pam Moore, Digital Transformation and Social Media Expert View Program Data Science SQL Server Bootcamp 2024: Transform from Beginner to Pro By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI and Analytics based Business Strategy By - Tanusree De, Managing Director- Accenture Technology Lead, Trustworthy AI Center of Excellence: ATCI View Program Finance Crypto & NFT Mastery: From Basics to Advanced By - CA Raj K Agrawal, Chartered Accountant View Program Leadership Crafting a Powerful Startup Value Proposition By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Leadership Business Storytelling Masterclass By - Ameen Haque, Founder of Storywallahs View Program Strategy Succession Planning Masterclass By - Nigel Penny, Global Strategy Advisor: NSP Strategy Facilitation Ltd. View Program Astrology Vastu Shastra Course By - Sachenkumar Rai, Vastu Shashtri View Program Web Development Mastering Full Stack Development: From Frontend to Backend Excellence By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program In June 2020, Adani Green Energy Limited had stated that it had won the first of its kind manufacturing-linked solar agreement from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
"As a part of the award, AGEL will develop 8 GW of solar projects along with a commitment that will see Adani Solar establish 2 GW of additional solar cell and module manufacturing capacity. This award, the largest of its type, ever, in the world, will entail a single investment of Rs. 45,000 crores (US $6 billion) and will create 400,000 direct and indirect jobs.
It will also displace 900 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over its lifetime," a company press release said. "This is the single biggest investment announced since the launch of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi’s Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (Self Reliant India Program). It is also another significant step in India continuing to lead the world in battling climate change and furthering the commitment the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India made to the world at the COP 21 summit in Paris in 2015," the release said.
Commenting on the deal, Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, said, “We are honoured to be selected by SECI for this landmark solar award. In today’s world, climate adaptation cannot be considered independent of economic development priorities and both, job creation as well as decarbonization must be simultaneous objectives. India made a commitment at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris that it would lead the Climate Change revolution and today is the leader among the just eight nations on track to meet their COP21 commitments.
"The fact that renewable power will transition into becoming the world’s cleanest and most economical fuel is a foregone conclusion and the Adani Group intends to play a leading role in this journey. This award is yet another step in our nation’s climate change promise to the world as well as enabling our nation’s Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (Self Reliant India Program). It is another step towards fulfilling our Group’s Nation Building vision.
” TOI had reported in November 2019 Adani Green taking the lead in SECI’s manufacturing-linked solar tender by offering to set up a solar manufacturing capacity of 1,000 MW and solar power project of 4,000 MW. Azure Power had opted for a kit manufacturing capacity of 500 MW. The tender had attracted bids for twice the capacity on offer.
This was the first over-subscription of a renewable energy capsule in nearly two years, during which auctions for solar and wind energy projects of over 10,000 MW had to be extended, postponed or retendered in the absence of a response from investors. Market players said safeguard duty against cheap imports, largely made in China or Chinese companies in South-East Asia that are hugely subsidised by Beijing, combined with several other measures have enthused the bidders. The charges against Adani and accomplices Below are some of the prominent charges in the 54-page indictment by the US prosecutors against Adani and seven others.
Gautam Adani personally met with Indian authorities on numerous occasions to advance the bribery plot. Co-conspirators met in person and communicated through an electronic messaging app to discuss execution, including while in the US. They made extensive electronic documentation of their bribery efforts, including using cell phones to track the locations and recipients of the promised bribes and photographing a document summarizing the amounts offered.
They prepared PowerPoint and Excel presentations to determine which payment option was best. Some members of the group destroyed evidence to hide their participation in the scheme, including a PowerPoint analysis and electronic communications. Gautam Adani emailed himself photos of each page of the search warrant and grand jury subpoena the FBI handed his nephew and co-defendant Sagar Adani.
(With inputs from agencies) Nominations for ET MSME Awards are now open. The last day to apply is November 30, 2024. Click here to submit your entry for any one or more of the 22 categories and stand a chance to win a prestigious award.
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel ).
