Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged in the US over his role in a $265 million bribery scheme.
US authorities accused Adani and two other Adani Green Energy executives, his nephew Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain, of agreeing to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials between 2020 and 2024 to win solar energy supply contracts that were expected to generate $2 billion in profits.
Prosecutors also said the Adanis and another Adani Green Energy executive, former CEO Vneet Jaain, raised more than $3 billion in loans and bonds by concealing their corruption from lenders and investors.
A judge has issued arrest warrants for Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani, and prosecutors plan to hand them over to foreign law enforcement agencies according to court records.
Adani is a power player in India and made his fortune in the coal business in the 1990s. The Adani Group grew to encompass many aspects of Indian life, from manufacturing defense equipment to building roads and selling cooking oil.
In recent years, the Adani Group has made big moves into renewable energy, embracing a philosophy of sustainable growth reflected in its slogan.
However, the conglomerate has been operating under a cloud in the US since 2023 when a high-profile firm published a report accusing it of fraud. The allegations, which Mr Adani denied, led to a major sell-off in the market.
Mr Adani is a close ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has long faced allegations from opposition politicians that he has profited from his political connections, which he denies.
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