Gautam Adani, Gautam Adani US, Gautam Adani Bribery Case, Gautam Adani US Investors Bribery Case, Gautam Adani Indian State Government Bribery Case, Can Gautam Adani land up in jail: India's billionaire Gautam Adani and his multiple executives on Thursday landed in fresh but serious trouble but this time in the USA. United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of New York on Thursday issued a press release announcing that it is charging Gautam Adani and seven other executives in a bribery case worth $250 million. As result, many are wondering whether Gautam Adani's legal trouble in the US can land him up in jail. Below is a breakdown of Gautam Adani Bribery Case-
Gautam Adani bribery and fraud case
US Prosecutors have charged Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Aani, and Vneet S. Jaain, executives of an Indian renewable-energy company (the Indian Energy Company), with conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud and substantive securities fraud for their roles in a multi-billion-dollar scheme to obtain funds from U.S. investors and global financial institutions on the basis of false and misleading statements.
The US prosecutors have also indictment Ranjit Gupta and Rupesh Agarwal, former executives of a renewable-energy company with securities that had traded on the New York Stock Exchange (the U.S. Issuer), and Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal and Deepak Malhotra, former employees of a Canadian institutional investor, with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with a bribery scheme also perpetrated by Gautam Adani, Sagar R. Adani and Vneet S. Jaain, involving one of the world’s largest solar energy project.
What are the allegations against Gautam Adani and his executives?
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York in an official release alleged, "As alleged, the defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars and Gautam S. Adani, Sagar Adani, and Vneet Jaain lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from U.S. and international investors."
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Miller said, "This indictment alleges schemes to pay over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials, to lie to investors and banks to raise billions of dollars, and to obstruct justice,” stated Deputy Assistant Attorney General Miller. “These offenses were allegedly committed by senior executives and directors to obtain and finance massive state energy supply contracts through corruption and fraud at the expense of U.S. investors."
'Gautam Adani bribed Indian Government'
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Dennehy alleged, "Gautam Adani and seven other business executives allegedly bribed the Indian government to finance lucrative contracts designed to benefit their businesses. Adani and other defendants also defrauded investors by raising capital on the basis of false statements about bribery and corruption, while still other defendants allegedly attempted to conceal the bribery conspiracy by obstructing the government’s investigation."
The US Attorney's Office further stated that between approximately 2020 and 2024, Adani and aforementioned executives 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).
As per the US agency, on several occasions, Gautam 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 defendants frequently discussed their efforts in furtherance of the Bribery Scheme, including through an electronic messaging application. The defendants also extensively documented their corrupt efforts: for example, Sagar Adani used his cellular phone to track specific details of the bribes offered and promised to government officials; Vneet S. Jaain used his cellular phone to photograph a document summarizing various bribe amounts the U.S. Issuer owed the Indian Energy Company for its respective portion of the bribes; and Rupesh Agarwal prepared and distributed to other defendants multiple analyses using PowerPoint and Excel that summarized various options for paying and concealing bribe payments (Bribery Analyses).
Can Gautam Adani and other executives land in jail?
The answer is yes. As per Reuters, arrest warrants have been issued against Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani. US prosecutors plan to hand those warrants to foreign law enforcement. The US Securities and Exchange Commission filed related civil charges against the two men and another individual, Cyril Cabanes.
True Scoop tried to find out more about the possible sentences that Adani may have to serve in the US if found guilty. The sentence is dependent on the specific charges, especially in five-count criminal indictment. However, Gemini AI states that sentencing may differ from 5 years to life imprisonment.
In the end, it will be dependent upon the Government of India whether they will hand over Gautam Adani to the US or not.