US SEC charges Adani in alleged bribery scheme
Deccan ChronicleWashington: The US Securities and Exchange Commission has charged billionaire Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of the Adani Group, with allegedly defrauding American investors and bribing officials. Adani, 62, his nephew Sagar Adani, 30, executives of Adani Green Energy Ltd, and Cyril Cabanes, an executive of Azure Power Global Ltd were charged on Wednesday with conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud, as well as substantive securities fraud, for their roles in a multi-billion-dollar scheme to obtain funds from US investors and global financial institutions through false and misleading statements. The SEC alleged that 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. During the alleged scheme, Adani Green raised more than USD 175 million from US investors and Azure Power's stock was traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the SEC said in a statement. Simultaneously, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York unsealed criminal charges against Adani and Sagar Adani, Cabanes, and others linked to Adani Green and Azure Power.