A New York judge has issued arrest warrants for Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and several others implicated in an alleged multibillion-dollar bribery and fraud scheme. The warrants will be handed over to international law enforcement agencies, according to a report by Reuters.
The charges were announced by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York on Wednesday. The accused, including Gautam Adani, 62, the chairman of the Adani Group, and Sagar Adani, 30, and six other executives, are accused of orchestrating a $265 million (approximately ₹2,236 crore) bribery scheme. The scheme allegedly aimed to secure solar energy supply contracts from the Indian government, with projected profits of nearly $2 billion (₹16,880 crore) over two decades.
Prosecutors claim that Gautam Adani and other executives, including Vneet S Jaain, a former Adani Green Energy executive, raised over $3 billion (₹25,322 crore) through loans and bonds while hiding their corrupt practices from investors and lenders. The bribery scheme allegedly spanned from 2020 to 2024 and was well-documented, with investigators citing phone records, photographs of key documents, and files analyzing the bribery methods.
The indictment further details how some conspirators referred to Gautam Adani by the code names “Numero uno” and “the big man,” while Sagar Adani reportedly tracked bribe details through his cellphone. The Adani group executives are also accused of meeting regularly, including with an Indian government official, to discuss and advance the bribery scheme.
The charges against the Adanis and their associates include securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and wire fraud conspiracy.
In response to the legal developments, the Adani Group issued a statement confirming that its subsidiaries have decided not to proceed with the proposed USD-denominated bond offerings amidst the ongoing investigations.
