The President of Kenya has cancelled the airport expansion and power line project with Adani Group. US prosecutors have accused Adani Group of bribery and fraud. Adani Group has termed these allegations baseless. Adani Group is accused of paying bribes in matters related to renewable energy projects in India.
Kenya President William Ruto made a big announcement on Thursday. He has cancelled the plan to expand his country’s main airport. India’s Adani Group had also bid for this project. Ruto has cancelled another deal worth more than $700 million with Adani Group. This deal was for the construction of power lines.
All this has happened after the allegations of corruption against Adani Group in the US. US prosecutors say that Adani Group had bribed Indian officials. In return, Adani got benefit in the solar energy business. Adani Group has termed these allegations as baseless. The Indian government has not said anything on this yet.
The US has accused Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and six others. They are accused of paying bribes and committing fraud for renewable energy projects in India. The US says that this benefited Adani’s company and India’s Azure Power. The US stock market NYSE used to sell shares of Azure Power till the end of 2023.
In 2020, the US prepared a secret report. In this report, it was told that the officials of Adani Green and Azure Power had conspired knowingly and willingly. They have confessed to bribing Indian government officials. In return, they wanted benefits in business.
Adani and his officials are also accused of misleading American investors and lenders. They lied about the company’s anti-corruption policies. By doing this, he extorted money from investors. Between 2021 and 2024, Adani raised more than $3 billion through loans and bonds. This also included money from American investors.
What does the US regulator’s note say?
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said, ‘Gautam and Sagar Adani were involved in bribery during a note offer by Adani Green in September 2021. $750 million was raised from this offer, including about $175 million from US investors. Adani Green’s offer documents included statements about corruption and anti-bribery efforts that were false or misleading.’
Prosecutors alleged that earlier this year Adani made misleading statements to the public, the Indian stock market and investors, even though he came to know about the US investigation in 2023.
