Indian billionaire Gautam Adani indicted on bribery charges in alleged bribery scheme

• Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged in a massive bribery scheme.
• US prosecutors allege he and his execs bribed Indian government officials to secure energy contracts.
• Adani and his executives convinced US investors to buy bonds on false promises, prosecutors allege.

Prosecutors brought bribery charges against billionaire Gautam Adani, one of the richest people in India, alleging the business magnate and seven of his senior executives paid hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to the Indian government and hid them from US investors.

New York prosecutors allege in an indictment that Adani and his executives promised more than $250 million in bribes to win solar energy contracts from the Indian government.

In a parallel action, the SEC on Wednesday charged Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The SEC complaint seeks permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and officer and director bars.

"As alleged, Gautam and Sagar Adani induced U.S. investors to buy Adani Green bonds through an offering process that misrepresented not only that Adani Green had a robust anti-bribery compliance program but also that the company's senior management had not and would not pay or promise to pay bribes," a statement from Sanjay Wadhwa, Acting Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, said in part.

Gautam Adani, the founder and chairman of Indian conglomerate Adani Group, is estimated to be worth more than $85 billion, according to Bloomberg.

The company did not immediately respond to BI's request for comment.

Adani and his executives convinced US investors to buy bonds in one of the companies using false promises, prosecutors allege.

Attorneys for the defendants could not immediately be reached.

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