Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has called for immediate arrest of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani following his indictment in New York on bribery charges. Adani, along with several others, has been accused of participating in a multi-billion-dollar fraud scheme related to the development of a mega solar power project.
On Wednesday, US prosecutors in New York charged Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and six others for their alleged involvement in securing funds from US investors and global financial institutions through false and misleading statements. An arrest warrant has been issued for Gautam Adani and the other accused, with the US authorities set to seek assistance from foreign law enforcement agencies, as per media reports.
The individuals named in the case include Vneet S. Jaain, CEO of Adani Green Energy; Ranjit Gupta, former CEO of Azure Power Global; Rupesh Agarwal, formerly associated with Azure Power; Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, and Deepak Malhotra, employees of a Canadian institutional investor.
During a press conference on Thursday, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi issued an ultimatum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding Adani’s arrest. Gandhi asserted that Adani had violated both Indian and US laws, emphasising the severity of the allegations.
According to a CNN report, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that Adani and other executives, including his nephew Sagar Adani, offered bribes exceeding $250 million to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts.
This controversy emerges over a year after a US-based short-seller accused the Adani Group of stock manipulation and accounting fraud, triggering significant impacts across the conglomerate. On Thursday, shares of Adani Group’s publicly traded companies plummeted by 10% to 20%.
The indictment alleges that solar energy supply contracts, obtained through bribery, were expected to generate over $2 billion in after-tax profits across 20 years. It further claims that Adani personally met with a senior Indian government official between 2020 and 2024 to advance the scheme. Evidence, including discussions on phones, allegedly highlights the involvement of the defendants in orchestrating the bribery operation.
“This indictment alleges schemes to pay over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials, deceive investors and banks to raise billions of dollars, and obstruct justice,” stated Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa Miller.
“These offenses were allegedly carried out by senior executives to secure and fund massive state energy contracts through corruption and fraud, all at the expense of US investors.”
The Congress Party has renewed its demand for a parliamentary investigation into Adani Group’s operations, calling for accountability and transparency in light of these allegations.
