India's Adani Group on Thursday rejected charges made by US prosecutors that its founder Gautam Adani had paid more than $250 million in bribes to secure lucrative government contracts.
"The allegations made by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of Adani Green are baseless and denied," the conglomerate said in a statement.
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani was indicted by US prosecutors for his alleged role in a $265 million bribery scheme, plunging his conglomerate deep into crisis for the second time in two years.
The multiple counts of fraud levelled against Adani, who is one of the world's richest people, and seven other defendants, sent shares and bonds of Adani firms tumbling on Thursday. Adani Green Energy, the company at the centre of the allegations, also cancelled a $600 million bond sale.
Arrest warrants have been issued for Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani and prosecutors plan to hand those warrants to foreign law enforcement, court records show.
US federal prosecutors said the defendants agreed to pay the bribes to Indian government officials to obtain contracts expected to yield $2 billion of profit over 20 years, and develop India's largest solar power plant project.
They also said the Adanis and another executive at Adani Green Energy's former CEO Vneet Jaain raised more than $3 billion in loans and bonds by hiding their corruption from lenders and investors.
The three were charged with securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy. The Adanis were also charged in a parallel US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) civil case.
"Gautam and Sagar Adani were engaged in the bribery scheme during a September 2021 note offering by Adani Green that raised $750 million, including approximately $175 million from US investors," the SEC said in a press statement.
"The SEC's complaint against Gautam and Sagar Adani charges them with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The complaint seeks permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and officer and director bars," it added.
Agencies