Gautam Adani not charged with FCPA, only securities violations that carry penalties: Adani Green
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In a stock exchange filing, Adani Green Energy Ltd – which is at the center of the bribery allegations – said reports that the three have been charged with FCPA violations “are incorrect.”
Adani Group has denied the bribery allegations as baseless and said it will take all possible legal action to defend itself.
Billionaire Gautam Adani and his cousin Sagar have not been accused of any violation of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the complaint filed by authorities in New York court in the alleged bribery case, the Adani Group said on Wednesday.
They have been charged with securities fraud and fines have been imposed.
Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of the Ports-to-Energy conglomerate, his cousin Sagar and another key executive have been accused by the US Department of Justice of being part of an alleged scheme to pay $265 million in bribes to Indian officials to win contracts. to supply solar energy, which would generate a profit of $2 billion over twenty years.
In a stock exchange filing, Adani Green Energy Ltd – which is at the center of the bribery allegations – said reports saying the three have been charged with FCPA violations “are incorrect.”
They are charged with violations that can be punished with a fine or penalty.
“Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain have not been charged with any violations of the FCPA in the charges set forth in the US DOJ complaint or the US SEC civil complaint.
“These directors are charged in the criminal complaint on three counts, namely (i) alleged securities fraud conspiracy, (ii) alleged wire fraud conspiracy, and (iii) alleged securities fraud,” the report said.
Adani Group has denied all allegations as baseless and said it will take all possible legal action to defend itself.
The US Department of Justice (US DoJ) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) have filed a criminal complaint and a civil complaint in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain – all directors of Adani Green Energy Ltd.
“The complaint does not specify any fine/penalty,” the company said.
The civil complaint alleges that the executives violated certain sections of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Act of 1934, and that they aided and abetted Adani Green Energy’s violation of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Act of 1934.
“While the complaint prays for an order directing the defendants to pay civil monetary penalties, it does not quantify the amount of the penalty,” it added.
The DoJ has alleged that senior executives from Adani Green, Azure Power and CDPQ (Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec – a Canadian institutional investor and Azure’s largest shareholder) participated in a scheme to bribe Indian government officials between 2020 and 2024 to implement lucrative solar energy supply contracts with Indian government agencies.
During the same period, senior executives at Adani Green conspired to misrepresent the company’s anti-bribery practices (to U.S. investors and international financial institutions) and concealed from these investors and institutions their bribery of Indian government officials to secure billions of dollars in financing to acquire. for green energy projects, including the corrupt solar supply contracts, the DoJ said.
Of the five counts in the DOJ indictment, Adani and two other executives are not charged in Count 1 (appearing on page 42 of the DOJ indictment), which the DOJ describes as “Conspiracy to Violate FCPA.”
Those charged in Count 1 are Ranjit Gupta, Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra and Rupesh Agarwal.
Adani and his executives have also not been charged in Count 5 (appearing on page 51 of the US DoJ indictment), which the DoJ describes as “Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice.”
Those charged in Count 5 are Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra and Rupesh Agarwal.
Since Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain have not been charged with counts 1 or 5 (conspiracy to violate FCPA and conspiracy to obstruct justice, respectively), they cannot be charged by US authorities with counts 2, 3 or 4 (securities fraud conspiracy). bank fraud and securities fraud conspiracy).
Shares Fall: Adani Group companies have lost about $54 billion in market capitalization since the US indictment.
Credit rating downgraded International rating agencies, including Moody’s and Fitch, have downgraded their outlooks on several Adani companies.
Despite receiving a $2 billion order book for green bonds worth $600 million, Adani Green Energy Ltd has withdrawn these bonds to protect investors from possible mark-to-market losses. The DOJ indictment came out on the exact day AGEL launched its bonds.
International partnerships and investments TotalEnergies: The French oil company has halted new investments in Adani companies, citing bribery allegations as a major problem. TotalEnergies has investments in Adani Green Energy and Adani Total Gas, and this announced pause signals a cautious approach amid the legal uncertainties.
US International Development Finance Corporation: The DFC has announced that it is reviewing its US$550 million port development loan to the Adani-led consortium developing CWIT, a container terminal at the Port of Colombo. The agency says it is assessing the impact of the charges on the integrity and compliance of the project.
GQG Partners: The investment firm has suddenly faced financial setbacks due to its substantial holdings in Adani companies. Shares in GQG Partners have fallen sharply, and while the company has publicly expressed confidence in the resilience of the Adani Group, it may still be forced to review its investments in Adani in light of the legal developments.
Jefferies: The US investment bank, which has been a key backer of the Adani Group, is rethinking its relationship with the group following the bribery allegations. This reassessment reflects concerns about reputational risk and compliance issues.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
