By Luc Cohen and Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Gautam Adani, the billionaire chairman of Indian conglomerate Adani Group and one of the world’s richest people, has been indicted in New York for his role in an alleged bribery and fraud scheme worth billions of dollars, they said U.S. prosecutors Wednesday. .
Authorities said Adani and seven other defendants, including his cousin Sagar Adani, agreed to pay approximately $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to obtain contracts expected to generate $2 billion in profits over 20 years, and to develop India’s largest solar power plant project.
Prosecutors also said the Adanis and another Adani Green Energy executive, 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 privately referred to Gautam Adani by the code names “Numero uno” and “the big man”, while Sagar Adani allegedly used his cell phone to track down details of the bribes.
Adani Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment after hours in India, where the allegations were announced early Thursday morning.
The Indian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Attorneys for the defendants could not immediately be identified.
Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Jaain were charged with securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and bank fraud conspiracy, and the Adanis were also charged in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil case.
The other five suspects were charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a U.S. anti-bribery law, and four were charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice.
None of the defendants are in custody, a spokesman 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 is one of the few billionaires formally charged with criminal misconduct in the United States.
His fortune makes him the 22nd richest person in the world, and the second richest person in India, after Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, according to Forbes.
Adani grew up in the Indian state of Gujarat and dropped out of school at the age of 16.
He founded the Adani Group in 1988 as a commodities trading firm, building a business empire that included airports, shipping ports, power generation, energy transmission and mining companies.
The indictment was announced hours after Adani raised $600 million on Wednesday by selling 20-year “green” bonds.
