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Adani, others allegedly agreed to pay $265 million bribes

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Arrest warrants issued for Gautam Adani and nephew

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US SEC files related civil case

(Adds details of charges, background, building of Adani Group)

By Luc Cohen and Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Gautam Adani, the

billionaire chair of Indian conglomerate Adani Group and one of

the world's richest people, has been indicted in New York over

his role in an alleged multibillion-dollar bribery and fraud

scheme, U.S. prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Authorities said Adani and seven other defendants, including

his nephew Sagar Adani, agreed to pay about $265 million in

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.

Prosecutors also said the Adanis and another executive at

Adani Green Energy, former CEO Vneet Jaain, raised more than $3

billion in loans and bonds by hiding their corruption from

lenders and investors.

According to an indictment, some conspirators referred

privately to Gautam Adani with the code names "Numero uno" and

"the big man," while Sagar Adani allegedly used his cellphone to

track specifics about the bribes.

Adani Group did not immediately respond to requests for

comment outside business hours in India, where the charges were

announced early Thursday morning.

India's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to

requests for comment. Lawyers for the defendants could not

immediately be identified.

Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Jaain were charged with

securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and wire fraud

conspiracy, and the Adanis were also charged in a U.S.

Securities and Exchange Commission civil case.

The other five defendants were charged with conspiring to

violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a U.S. anti-bribery

law, and four were charged with conspiring to obstruct justice.

None of the defendants is in custody, a spokesperson for

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace in Brooklyn said. Gautam Adani is

believed to be in India.

BUILT EMPIRE

The 62-year-old Adani is worth $69.8 billion according to

Forbes magazine, and one of the few billionaires formally

accused in the United States of criminal wrongdoing.

His fortune makes him the world's 22nd-richest person, and

second-richest in India behind Reliance Industries

Chair Mukesh Ambani, Forbes said.

Adani grew up in India's Gujarat state, and dropped out of

school at age 16.

He founded Adani Group in 1988 as a commodities trading

firm, and built a business empire that has included airports,

shipping ports, power generation, energy transmission and mining

companies.

The charges were announced hours after Adani on Wednesday

raised $600 million by selling 20-year "green" bonds.

They also came nearly two years after U.S. short-seller

Hindenburg Research accused Adani Group of using offshore tax

havens improperly, which the company denied.

Hindenburg's January 2023 report sparked an approximately

$150 billion meltdown in Adani Group stocks.

ADANI PLANNED INVESTMENTS, CONGRATULATED TRUMP

Others who were criminally charged on Wednesday include

Ranjit Gupta and Rupesh Agarwal, respectively a former CEO and

former chief strategy and commercial officer of Azure Power

Global ( AZREF ), which authorities said agreed to pay some of the bribes.

The remaining criminal defendants worked for Caisse de Depot

et Placement du Quebec, a Canadian institutional investor, and

included Cyril Cabanes, who was also an Azure director. He was

also charged with wrongdoing by the SEC.

All of the defendants are Indian citizens apart from

Cabanes, a dual French-Australian citizen who has lived in

Singapore, prosecutors said.

According to court records, a judge has issued arrest

warrants for Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani, and prosecutors plan

to hand those warrants to foreign law enforcement.

Last week, Gautam Adani posted on social media platform X

that his conglomerate planned to invest $10 billion in U.S.

energy security and infrastructure projects, creating a

potential 15,000 jobs, without providing a timetable.

Adani announced the investment while also congratulating

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on his election win.

Trump has pledged to make it easier for energy companies to

drill on federal land and build new pipelines.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also from Gujarat, has

been accused by political opponents of protecting Adani and his

companies, including from Hindenburg's accusations. Modi has

dismissed the opposition's claims as "lies and abuses."