A New York federal court on Thursday indicted Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and other executives of his renewable energy company. The charges include conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud and substantive securities fraud in a multi-billion USD scheme to obtain funds from US investors and global financial institutions on the basis of false and misleading statements.

The federal indictment accuses Gautam Adani, Adani Green Energy executives Sagar R. Adani and Vineet S. Jain, and others of securities fraud, bribery, and obstruction. The Department of Justice’s press release adds:

As alleged in the indictment, between approximately 2020 and 2024, the defendants agreed to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts with the Indian government, which were projected to generate more than $2 billion in profits after tax over an approximately 20-year period (the Bribery Scheme).  On several occasions, Gautam S. Adani personally met with an Indian government official to advance the Bribery Scheme, and the defendants held in-person meetings with each other to discuss aspects of its execution.

The accused persons also allegedly obstructed FBI and US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations by deleting evidence.

Adani’s Adani Group released a media statement regarding the indictment, stating:

All possible legal recourse will be sought. The Adani Group has always upheld and is steadfastly committed to maintaining the highest standards of governance, transparency and regulatory compliance across all jurisdictions of its operations. We assure our stakeholders, partners and employees that we are a law-abiding organisation, fully compliant with all laws.

On the other hand, Kenyan President William Ruto announced the cancellation of all deals with the Adani Group in the aftermath of the indictment, including the procurement deal for the expansion of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.