Adani Bribed AP Under Jagan Rule for Sale of Solar Power, Says US DoJ

Hyderabad:Tremors of the alleged bribery scam involving top industrialist Gautam Adani were felt in Andhra Pradesh with the previous Y.S. The US Department of Justice has disclosed that a high-ranking official in AP who served between May 2019 and June 2024 was offered “a corrupt payment of Rs 1,750 crore in exchange of the official causing distribution companies to agree to purchase seven gigawatts of solar power from SECI under the Manufacturing Linked Project.” Further, it said the defendant Gautam Adani personally met with the high-ranking official to advance the execution of a PSA between SECI and Andhra Pradesh’s state electricity distribution companies, including on or about August 7, 2021, on or about September 12, 2021 and on or about November 20, 2021.” According to the complaint filed by the Securities Exchange Commission against Gautam Adani at the United States District Court Eastern District of New York, Gautam Adani met personally with the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh about the fact that AP had not entered into a PSA with SECI and the “incentives” needed to cause AP to do so in August 2021. The indictment report mentioned that Gautam Adani’s interactions with “high rank official” resulted in AP discoms entering into a PSA with the Solar Energy Corporation of India on December 2021 to purchase 2.3 gw of solar power which was considered as the largest quantum of power procured by any Indian state so far. Gautam Adani allegedly paid or promised a bribe to AP government officials for AP discoms to enter into PSA with SECI for the purchase of 7,000 mw of power and the payment or promise to pay bribes, was reflected in the internal communication to Gautam Adani Green and Azure where the AP had agreed to buy power from SECI, the report added. Subsequently, the SECI executed corresponding Power Purchase Agreements with the subsidiaries of the Adani Group and the US-based issuer, committing to procure solar energy for Andhra Pradesh and other states.