November 2024 Archives

CPI (ML) MP Sudama Prasad Returns Gold and Silver Gifts From Railways, Criticises Extravagance

In a letter addressed to CM Ramesh, MP and chairperson of the standing committee on railways, Prasad expressed his dismay upon receiving a 1-gram gold coin and a 100-gram silver block as gifts from RITES and RVNL, respectively.

New Delhi: The Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation’s Sudama Prasad, Lok Sabha MP from Ara, Bihar, has returned gifts presented to him by Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) and Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) during a study tour organised by the standing committee on railways from October 31 to November 7. In a letter addressed to CM Ramesh, MP and chairperson of the standing committee on railways, Prasad expressed his dismay upon receiving a 1-gram gold coin and a 100-gram silver block as gifts from RITES and RVNL, respectively.

“Flowers, shawls, paintings and few memorabilia are generally given as welcome gifts. However, what has pained me are the gifts given by RITES and Rail Vikas Nigam Limited,” Prasad wrote. He termed the act unethical and bordering on corruption, suggesting it could silence MPs from raising critical issues concerning the public.

“I was taken aback and raised questions about public morality and ethics on part of Indian Railways for having given such gifts,” Prasad wrote. He highlighted the plight of railway passengers and workers, contrasting the luxurious treatment given to committee members with the hardships faced by ordinary citizens.

“Common people are made to travel without dignity in general and sleeper compartments. No new trains are introduced for the poor and the middle class with the focus primarily being on Vande Bharat led trains. Similarly, I request the Chairman of Standing Committee to pass on instructions to Indian Railways management to arrange normal and not extravagant accommodation like five stars for standing committee meetings or official meetings,” Prasad added.

The MP’s letter highlighted issues such as unpaid sanitation workers, harassment of contractual employees and the lack of affordable train services for the poor and middle class. “I hope to return the gold and silver given to me as gift in front of the committee members and wish to express my dissatisfaction and anger for treating a member of Parliament in this manner,” Prasad wrote.

Chronicles of a Choked City

As Delhi suffocates under hazardous air, The Wire talks to people from different parts of the city battling the public health emergency and a disastrous climate crisis.

New Delhi: Fifty-five-year-old Laxman Singh wakes up at 5 am in the morning to get ready for the day. For the rest of it, he rides through the nooks and crannies of Delhi in his auto-rickshaw. He returns home for a short nap in the evening and gets back on the road at 8 pm for a few more trips until he finally returns home for the day at 11. Singh spends roughly 16 hours outside in his auto-rickshaw.

He, along with his family of four, lives in a small room with no ventilation in the Chhuriya Mohalla of Tughlakabad village.

“We can barely afford this room now. But situations were different when we had our own house, until last year, when it was demolished by the ASI authorities. They [governments, authorities, police] listen to the orders of the Supreme Court when they have to demolish thousands of homes but simply ignore the rules imposed by the Supreme Court when it comes to burning firecrackers. Rich people drive their cars, burn firecrackers and blame farmers of Punjab and Haryana for Delhi’s pollution. And us, who have nowhere to go but the streets to earn our daily bread, are left in this dense, polluted air. Neither the central government nor the Delhi government has done anything for us. They don’t even care to distribute masks to the children!” said Laxman, when asked about whether he has received any help or amenities from the authorities to battle the pollution.

Laxman Singh. Tughlakabad village, New Delhi.

“I sometimes think that at least I have a windscreen in my auto… think about the rickshaw pullers, they are exposed to this poisonous air throughout the day without any protection, leading to a slow death. I try to read as much as I can to know better about our surroundings and end up getting more disappointed every day. One day, I’ll start an NGO or something that takes care of the problems of people like us – poor people,” he adds.

Sabeena Ansari (36) lives in a parking lot of an apartment building in Batla House with her husband and two daughters. Her husband, Mahmood Ansari (38), works as a security guard there. Sabeena is a part-time domestic worker who works in the nearby, posh residential areas like New Friends Colony and Sukhdev Vihar.

From 7 am to 6 pm, she covers nearly 8 houses, spending a large chunk of time outside, walking from one house to another. Often, she gets caught up in traffic while returning home in an e-rikshaw.

Sabeena Ansari. New Friends Colony, New Delhi

“There are a lot of high-class houses that don’t allow us [domestic workers] to use the lift so we have to take the stairs. After walking amidst this polluted air, I feel parched and tired. How can one climb five stories in this condition? But we don’t have any other option. If I refuse to do so, they’ll just fire me from my job,” said Sabeena.

When talking about Delhi’s rising pollution and the difficulties people facing everywhere in the city, she says, “I can’t really afford to think about pollution anymore. There’s a lot of dust and smoke everywhere. My younger one suffers from a severe cough, cold, and shortness of breath every winter. But what can we do about it? That’s how Delhi is. Two of my daughters are studying in school, and for them, I have to work to earn. Can’t do that without going outside. I don’t want my children to end up like us.”

“The last time I breathed in fresh air was ages ago, in our village near Kishanganj, Bihar. Yahan to ye logon ko rasta banana nahi aata hai thik se, to hawa se zeher kahan se nikal payega? (Authorities can’t even make proper roads here, how will they take the poison out of the air?)” Sabeena added.

According to several reports, there has been a spike in the number of patients from Delhi NCR suffering from shortness of breath, lung failure, cough, and other respiratory problems since Diwali, when the air quality started worsening. Children and the elderly remain the most affected. Twelve-year-old Saurav is suffering from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and a severe lung infection. His condition worsened after Diwali, and this year, it is taking longer to recover. This was his third visit to Safdarjung Hospital in two weeks.

Saurav, Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi.

“He suffers from lung issues throughout the year, and every year at this time, it gets worse. One doctor once suggested that I leave Delhi during the winters. But how can we go? I barely earn enough to sustain both of us. Traveling is a far-fetched dream,” said Saurav’s mother, Sumitra Mondal (33). Sumitra works with a construction company as a daily-wage labourer. She has been out of work since all major construction activities were shut down by the Delhi government due to severe air pollution.

Maya Chetri (54), a resident of Darjeeling, is on her first visit to Delhi. “I always wanted to see our capital and its monuments but never had a chance. I knew that the summers are unbearable in Delhi, so I, along with a few other friends, planned this trip now- only to see people gasping for breath. I never realized the amount of trouble this smog could give. In the hills, we see a lot of fog. Although this smog looks very similar to fog, it feels completely different. Ever since we reached Delhi, all of us have had sore throats and breathing problems. Can’t even see the Lal Quila properly.” said Maya.

Maya Chetri. Red Fort, New Delhi

Ayesha (21), a student of Delhi University (DU), stays in a shared, one-room flat in GTB Nagar, near DU North Campus. “It’s not all our fault, you see! Delhi’s climate crisis is a failure of the entire crony capitalist system. Now, both the state and Union governments are playing a blame game. We are not supposed to bear this as citizens. I feel angry, numb, and helpless. I wonder when the capital becomes completely unliveable, what will the rich and powerful do? Some of them will definitely fly abroad, leaving the rest of us here to choke to death?” asks Ayesha and quotes a Native American saying from her phone, “When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish eaten, and the last stream poisoned, you will realise that you cannot eat money”.

Ayesha. GTB Nagar, New Delhi.

All illustrations are by Pariplab Chakraborty.

Adani US Indictment: Jaganmohan Reddy Under Fire Over ‘Foreign Official #1’ Who Got Rs 1750-Crore Bribe

There is a swirl of controversy over the actions of the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jaganmohan Reddy who was at the helm of affairs in the state in the duration of the purported scandal involving bribes having been paid to Indians.

New Delhi: The mention of one “Foreign Official #1” who is alleged as having received Rs 1,750 crores as bribe from the Adani Group in the US Attorney’s Offices’s criminal indictment against billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani has caused a storm in Andhra Pradesh’s political circles.

There is a swirl of controversy over the actions of the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jaganmohan Reddy who was at the helm of affairs in Andhra Pradesh in the duration of the purported scandal involving bribes having been paid to Indians.

The indictment alleges that Gautam Adani himself was personally involved in talks in which “more than $250 million was promised in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts.” Adani Group has called the charges baseless and denied them.

The US laws allow investigations against foreign corruption if US markets are involved or impacted.

The public copy of the indictment anonymises several names and institutions, among which is “Foreign Official #1.”

The indictment notes that #1 was a citizen of India who resided in India. “From approximately May 2019 through June 2024, Foreign Official #1 served as a high-ranking government official of Andhra Pradesh, India,” it said.

In June 2024, Andhra Pradesh saw a change in government, with Jaganmohan Reddy being voted out of power and Chandrababu Naidu being elected chief minister.

The indictment said that Adani “personally met with Foreign Official #1 in Andhra Pradesh to advance the execution of a PSA between SECI and Andhra Pradesh’s state electricity distribution companies, including on or about August 7, 2021, on or about September 12, 2021 and on or about November 20, 2021.”

On September 13, 2021, Andhra media had reported Jagan meeting with Adani and other Group officials without him disclosing the fact or details of those meetings.

A report on September 13 said that in September 2021, Gautam Adani “along with his brothers” met Jagan at the then chief minister’s Tadepalli residence. There was no official update on the visit, the report said, noting that this goes against tradition when it comes to such a meeting.

Another report noted that the other Adani with Gautam was his brother Karan who was the chief executive officer of Adani Ports and SEZ Limited.

Before this visit, the Andhra Pradesh government made a move to sell its 10.4% stake in the Gangavaram port to the Adani Group, which at that time had around 89.61% stake in the port. The move was challenged in the high court.

The Communist Party of India (CPI) had demanded the Andhra Pradesh government disclose the details of this secret meeting between Jagan and Adani, following which the Andhra Pradesh state cabinet adopted resolutions to allow Adani group to set up 9,000 megawatt solar power plants in the state.

The party had asked why the contract was given to Adani alone when several contractors, and some closer home, could have shared the execution of the project.

The indictment said, “Approximately 1,750 crore rupees (approximately $228 million) of the corrupt payments was offered to Foreign Official #1 in exchange for Foreign Official #1 causing Andhra Pradesh’s state electricity distribution companies to agree to purchase seven gigawatts of solar power from SECI under the Manufacturing Linked Project.”

The indictment notes that Andhra Pradesh’s electricity distribution companies entered into a PSA [or power supply agreement] with SECI on or about December 1, 2021, pursuant to which the state agreed to purchase approximately seven gigawatts of solar power – by far the largest amount of any Indian state or region.

SECI or Solar Energy Corporation of India was a company of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy under the Narendra Modi-ruled Union government of India. “SECI was stateowned and state-controlled and performed a function that India treated as its own. SECI was an “instrumentality” of the Indian government,” the indictment says.

A month after the alleged meeting between Adani and Jagan, in 2021, a report in an Andhra outlet said that Jagan was attracting attention over his use of special private jets owned by the Adanis and Ambanis. In October, Jagan had used an Adani flight to Chittoor to visit the Tirupati temple. In August, before his meeting with the Adanis, he had used a flight owned by the Reliance Group.

‘Some of Them Were Unable to Walk’: Civilians Allegedly Tortured in Army Custody in Kishtwar

Some photos in the possession of The Wire indicate that the victims have been badly assaulted.

Srinagar: Four civilians who were detained on Wednesday (November 20) for questioning in connection with a recent militant attack have been allegedly tortured in custody by the army in Kishtwar of Jammu division where militancy has been on the upswing in recent months.

The allegations of torture have surfaced two days after the army’s northern commander lieutenant general M.V. Suchindra Kumar reviewed the security situation in Kishtwar of Chenab Valley and less than a year after the army was accused of killing three civilians in custodial interrogation in Poonch district of Pir Panjal.

The Chenab Valley and Pir Panjal region in Jammu division have been hit by a deadly wave of militant attacks in which dozens of army and police officials as well as civilians have been killed, prompting massive searches and intelligence-based operations during which hundreds of civilians have been questioned.

Locals and officials told The Wire that the victims identified as Sajad Ahmad, Abdul Kabir, Mushtaq Ahmad and Mehraj-ud-Din, all residents of Kuath village, received phone calls from the army on Wednesday morning, asking them to report at the camp in Chas camp of Mughal Maidan tehsil in Kishtwar district.

The camp serves as the base of 11 Rashtriya Rifles. All the four victims are poor and married who made a living by working as daily-wage labourers, their families said.

“They went to the camp without taking anyone along while informing their families that they would return home soon. However, when they didn’t come back and repeated phone calls went unanswered, the families decided to check at the camp,” a local of Kuath village who spoke on the condition of anonymity said.

The victims were, however, released before the families reached the army camp but they were badly injured. “Some of them had to be lifted on the shoulders because they were unable to walk. It was decided by their families to shift them to Kishtwar district hospital for treatment,” the local added.

All the four victims are poor and married who made a living by working as daily-wage labourers, their families said. Photo: Special Arrangement

Some photos in the possession of The Wire indicate that the victims have been badly assaulted. At least two of them have bluish-red marks on their legs and buttocks, purportedly caused due to repeated flogging with a hard object.

The third victim has suffered a laceration in the temple area while the fourth victim has an injury in the left eye which has been nearly shut due to heavy swelling, purportedly caused due to a heavy blow. “All of them have marks of assault on their bodies,” the local said.

As the families were on the way to Kishtwar in a cavalcade of private cars along with the four victims, they were stopped by the army in Bhanderkoot village on Wednesday evening. The families alleged that the army didn’t allow them to move ahead.

“The army took the victims inside their camp and promised to punish the culprits involved in the torture. They wanted to cover up the matter,” the local said, adding that senior army officers also arrived at the camp and assured the families that the guilty would be punished.

A grainy video filmed on Wednesday evening outside the Bhanderkoot camp, which has been verified by The Wire, showed dozens of army soldiers preventing the families from proceeding towards Kishtwar. A family member of one of the victims can be heard shouting that they would call the ambulance if their vehicles were not allowed to cross the camp.

In the meantime, as the news of the incident spread in the area, the civil and police administration also swung into action with senior officials including Kishtwar’s deputy commissioner and senior superintendent of police (SSP) arriving at the spot who tried to calm the agitated family members.

SSP Kishtwar, Javed Iqbal, could not be reached for comment. A senior police officer said that they are verifying the allegations, “We have taken cognisance of the incident. The medical examination of the four men has been conducted and they have been provided treatment. The law will take its own course,” he said.

Also read: Days After Flagging Environmental Issue, J&K Police Arrest Civic Activist Under PSA

The allegations of torture against the army have surfaced in the backdrop of the killing of a special forces’ junior commissioned officer in a militant attack in Chas area of Kishtwar on November 10.

Three more army soldiers were also injured in the attack which took place three day after two civilians, who were working as village defence guards, were abducted and later gunned down in a militant attack in the upper reaches of Kishtwar on November 7.

In December last year, three civilians were killed during custodial interrogation by the army in Poonch district of Jammu. An army probe had later blamed the “lapses” in the conduct of about a dozen army personnel, including officers, for the gruesome killings.

A unit of the army’s Rashtriya Rifles, which was involved in the killings, was shifted out of Poonch district while a probe was launched to investigate the role of a commanding officer and a major who were allegedly involved in the killings.

UP Bypolls Marred by Allegations of Police Misconduct, Discrimination Against Muslims

Controversies erupted from the outset as SP shared multiple videos allegedly showing its voters facing trouble in casting their vote.

New Delhi: A police officer was caught on camera pointing a pistol at civilians and threatening to fire at them. Five police personnel were suspended for violating election commission (EC) guidelines prohibiting them from examining the identity cards of voters. Opposition party supporters, especially Muslims, were allegedly prevented or discouraged through strong-arm tactics by the police from casting their vote at multiple stations. An opposition candidate was so aggrieved by allegations of bias and misconduct against Muslims and his booth agents that he demanded that the entire election be scrapped and conducted afresh. The Election Commission of India had to take cognisance of these complaints of arbitrary checking and preventing voters from voting and issue directions to officials on the ground to ensure free and fair elections without any bias against any community.

These are just some of the highlights of an action-packed bypoll in Uttar Pradesh where voting was conducted on nine seats on November 20.

After a heated campaign by the two main blocs – the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) – all eyes were on the actual voting process amid rising concerns regarding administrative partiality and police excesses.

In the end, the nine seats recorded an average voting percentage of 49.3. Kundarki, Meerapur and Katehari seats recorded the highest voting percentage – 57.7, 57.1 and 56.9 respectively. The urban seat of Ghaziabad, as expected, recorded the lowest turnout – a dismal 33.3%. Khair in Aligarh and Phulpur in Prayagraj also did not do that well as they saw turnouts of 46.3% and 43.4% respectively. Karhal had a turnout of 54.1%, Majhawan 50.4 % and Shishamau 49.1%.

The voting process was marred by controversies from the outset as the opposition SP shared multiple videos allegedly showing its voters facing trouble casting their vote. While we cannot independently verify each of the videos shared by the opposition, several complaints of misconduct from the police on duty were acknowledged by election and administrative officials themselves.

The Akhilesh Yadav-led SP accused the police of bias and alleged that some officers and officials were working in the capacity of BJP workers. “It seems that the senses of the Election Commission have dulled. It can neither see nor hear despite so many complaints. BJP wants to win these by-elections not by vote but by ‘khot‘ (insincerity),” said Yadav.

Addressing a hurriedly-convened press conference in the middle of the voting process, Yadav alleged that fearing a defeat, the BJP was pressuring the administration to indulge in foul play. He alleged that the police and other officials were preventing the SP voters from exercising their right to ensure an advantage to the BJP.

The EC later said it has taken cognisance of the complaints regarding “arbitrary checking and prevention of voters from voting” in certain constituencies in UP. After a thorough enquiry, five police personnel were suspended in Moradabad, Kanpur and Muzaffarnagar for violating the norms and guidelines regarding checking of voters, the panel said. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar strictly directed all concerned district election officers and 13 central observers to ensure a free, fair and impartial election process without any bias against any communication, the EC said.

A day before the voting, Uttar Pradesh Chief Election Officer Navdeep Rinwa had issued directions to all district police chiefs where polling was to be held to ensure strict compliance with the EC directives that the police would not check people’s voting IDs outside the polling booths. The primary role of the police force was to ensure law and order on the day of the voting, Chandrashekhar, additional CEC of UP, said in a directive after the SP requested that the police follow the guidelines.

Chandrashekhar also instructed the officials to follow the procedures laid out for women voters especially those who are veiled.

Shyam Lal Pal, SP’s state president, had on the eve of the voting written to the UP CEC requesting directions that the police not be allowed to check the ID cards of voters.

Pal cited a past bad experience. During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, police personnel deployed for security at the polling station had misused their power and intimidated SP supporting voters, especially Muslim women, by removing their veils on the pretext of identification, he said. These voters had to return without casting their votes, affecting the election and causing a fall in the voting percentage, added Pal.

Reacting to Pal’s letter, UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya alleged that the SP was engaging in a “conspiracy to get fake voting done by making people wear burqa.” “For fair elections, it is necessary to ensure special checking of voters who vote wearing burqa,” said Maurya.

UP CEO Rinwa reassured the opposition saying that the police were not authorised to check identity cards and that only the polling staff and presiding officers could do so.

On polling day, however, there were multiple complaints of police personnel checking the identity cards of voters.

In Moradabad, the district magistrate said they had taken cognisance of complaints that barricades had been put up in some localities, causing trouble to voters. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Satpal Antil said wherever they received such complaints against the police, the concerned personnel was removed from duty immediately. Departmental action would also be taken, said Antil.

A sub-inspector and two constables were removed from their duty in Moradabad, said the officer.

In Muzaffarnagar, sub-inspectors Neeraj Kumar and Ompal Singh were suspended for not following the guidelines of the election commission. The police also initiated departmental action against them.

The EC in Uttar Pradesh said that it had taken the complaints regarding voter ID checks seriously and suspended two personnel each in Kanpur and Muzaffarnagar.

Former MLA and SP candidate in Kundarki (Moradabad), Mohammad Rizwan wrote to the EC and district election officer alleging that only the members of a particular community were being allowed to cast their votes while the other community (Muslims) was facing a storm of lathis from the administration.

He also demanded that the state police be removed from election duty and that the paramilitary forces be deployed for the election process.

“This is to inform you that the local police are threatening and beating Samajwadi Party polling agents at all booths (1 to 396) They are also mistreating our workers. The BJP is distributing different coloured slips, and the local police are favouring those with these slips,” alleged Rizwan in the middle of the voting process.

It is imperative that all political parties are given equal opportunity to participate without fear of violence or intimidation, wrote Rizwan.

In another controversy, police officer Rajeev Sharma, the SHO of Kakrauli in Muzaffarnagar, was seen in a video pointing his pistol towards some locals in a lane. While it initially appeared that he was aiming at some Muslim women, senior police officers later clarified the SHO was trying to disperse some alleged miscreants who had pelted stones at the police.

Akhilesh Yadav shared a clip of the incident and demanded that the EC suspend the SHO, accusing him of preventing voters from casting their votes by threatening them with a revolver.

The video created outrage on social media against the UP police. SSP Muzaffarnagar, Abhishek Singh, later said that the SHO was engaging in “riot control”.

“The video is incomplete and is being made viral as part of a conspiracy,” the officer said.

SSP Singh said that Kakrauli police had reached the village after receiving information that there had been a scuffle between two groups. When the police reached the spot, the people first tried to block the road and then pelted stones at the police, said Singh.

“Police brought the situation under control using light force. When the video was made the trouble makers had escaped from there,” he said.

The officer said that the trouble makers had pushed the women in front and gave a clean chit to the SHO.

“Police followed the rules and acted to keep the law and order situation normal on voting day,” Singh said.

UP CEO Rinwa said the stone pelting incident took place at some distance from the polling booth in Meerapur constituency in Muzaffarnagar. It did not disrupt voting, he said.

Later, an FIR was lodged against 25 persons, including three women, for pelting stones at the police and disrupting official work. According to the FIR, the dispute broke out between the supporters of two sides, SP and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, over voting for their respective candidates.

In Mainpuri’s Karhal the body of a murdered 23-year-old Dalit girl was discovered on voting day. Her death was politicised by the BJP as it linked the accused person to the SP.

The girl’s family alleged that the accused persons Prashant Yadav and Mohan Katheria, murdered her to prevent her from voting for the BJP. This point will be included in the investigation, said Vinod Kumar, SP Mainpuri.

UP deputy chief minister Maurya took a dig at the SP over the incident.

“The brutal murder of a Dalit girl in Karhal has exposed the gunda raj and black deeds of the SP,” said Maurya.

Adani Indictment: Group Loses Rs 2 Lakh Crore; Key Investor’s Stock Falls 20%

New Delhi: American investment firm GQG Partners, Adani Group’s biggest shareholder in the US, faced a sharp decline in its share price, tumbling as much as 23% on the Australian Securities Exchange on Thursday, November 21. The sell-off came after US federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against billionaire Gautam Adani and other executives of the Adani Group, alleging involvement in a $250 million bribery scheme. Adani Group has called the charges “baseless” and denied them.

GQG’s stock fell to AUD 1.98, closing the day down 20%, according to a Moneycontrol report.

The charges, filed by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, allege that between 2020 and 2024, senior executives of a renewable energy company under the Adani Group orchestrated a bribery scheme. The scheme purportedly involved paying government officials to secure profitable solar energy contracts with public entities. A Canadian institutional investor, identified as the issuer’s largest shareholder, was also implicated in the alleged misconduct, according to a CNBC TV18 report.

As a significant investor in Adani Group companies, GQG Partners sought to reassure stakeholders amid growing concerns. The boutique investment firm, led by co-founder Rajiv Jain, stated it is closely monitoring the situation and reviewing its exposure to Adani stocks. GQG emphasised that over 90% of its clients’ assets are invested in companies unrelated to the Adani Group, ensuring a diversified portfolio.

Despite this reassurance, GQG’s ties to the Adani Group have drawn scrutiny. Since March 2023, GQG has increased its investments in Adani companies – including Adani Ports, Adani Green Energy, and Adani Enterprises – starting with a Rs 15,446 crore infusion and growing to nearly Rs 80,000 crore by late 2024. These investments came after allegations of financial irregularities were raised by Hindenburg Research earlier this year.

As of the quarter ending September 30, GQG Partners held stakes ranging from 1.5% to 2% in six Adani Group companies, according to a CNBC TV18 report. “Our team is reviewing the emerging details and determining what, if any, actions for our portfolios are appropriate,” a GQG statement said.

GQG Partners manages $159.4 billion in assets as of October 2024. The Adani Group’s holdings currently have a market capitalisation exceeding $200 billion, according to a Fortune report.

Also read: Adani Indictment: Congress Repeats Call for JPC Probe into ‘PM and His Favourite Businessman’

Shares of Adani Group companies plummeted on Thursday following the charges. At the start of trading, stocks across the group posted losses between 10% and 20%, erasing Rs 2 lakh crore in market capitalisation.

Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship firm, suffered a 20% drop, while Adani Ports fell 15%. Most other group companies, including Adani Green Energy and Adani Total Gas, also saw declines in the range of 10-20%. In response to the developments, Adani Green Energy announced it has canceled a planned US dollar-denominated bond sale.

Adani Indictment: Rahul Gandhi Says Adani, With PM Modi’s Help, Has ‘Hijacked Hindustan’

‘If Gautam Adani is arrested, the PM knows that he will also be implicated (for being complicit in his crimes),’ the LoP said.

New Delhi: Hours after news broke that the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Attorney’s Office of the United States have charged billionaire Gautam Adani over his alleged role in a “massive bribery scheme,” the Congress has noted that the move vindicates the party’s longstanding demand for a probe into the industrialist’s scams.

Adani Group has called the charges “baseless” and denied them.

‘PM knows he will be implicated’

Leader of the opposition in the parliament, Rahul Gandhi renewed his attack on the Adani group in a press conference on the morning of November 21. He challenged PM Narendra Modi to arrest him but added that he was confident that Gautam Adani, who should be in prison, will not be arrested as the industrialist has the complete support of the prime minister.

“If Gautam Adani is arrested, the PM knows that he will also be implicated (for being complicit in his crimes),” he said.

Gandhi said that he has been raising concerns about the way the Adani-Modi duo has “hijacked Hindustan” that has led to loss of jobs, power price spike and inflation in the country.

He said that his primary message for people of this country is that Adani, with the help of Modi, has hijacked the institutions of this country, as the Congress had shown recently in the way SEBI chief Madhabi Buch was allegedly protected. He said Buch was responsible for protecting Adani stocks but she did not fulfil her primary role to protect retail share market investors. He added that the Congress will eventually expose the “political-bureaucratic” network of Adani which is being sheltered by none other than PM Modi.

“We will dismantle the nexus,” he said.

He also said that although he has no hope of a government probe being initiated by Modi, he demands a JPC probe and a thorough investigation into all of Adani’s projects. “If investigations reveal any wrongdoing by even opposition-ruled states, they should also be made subjects of probe, he said.”

As a LoP, Gandhi said, it was his responsibility to protect Indian citizens and he will keep raising the concern in the parliament in the upcoming parliament session and demand a JPC probe, too.

He said that the Adani group is being given institutional protection that has helped the industrial conglomerate to raise its valuation, and that in turn has allowed it to raise huge funds from banks and investors.

“[The] political finance, stock market, Adani ji nexus is dangerous for the country. Retail investors will be the most harmed but this is also dangerous for the country’s security. So much concentration of wealth in one group’s hand is dangerous for the future of this country. We demand Gautam Adani’s arrest and a thorough probe against his alleged wrongdoings,” Gandhi said.

Jairam Ramesh

Congress veteran Jairam Ramesh has posted on X that since January 2023, the Congress has been calling for a Joint Parliamentary Committee investigation into the various “Modani scams.”

Modani is a portmanteau of the last name of prime minister Narendra Modi and Adani.

“The Congress had asked a hundred questions in its Hum Adani ke Hain (HAHK) series bringing out the various dimensions of these scams and of the intimate nexus that has existed between the PM and his favourite businessman. These questions have remained unanswered.”

The indictment says that more than $250 million was promised in bribes to Indian government officials by the Adani group to secure solar energy contracts.

Congress has also highlighted SEBI’s lack of action in probing the purported nexus between Adani and various governments – now thrown in contrast:

“The SEC’s actions also cast poor light on the manner in which its Indian counterpart, namely SEBI, has gone about investigating violations of securities and other laws by the Adani Group and its abject failure to hold the Group to account for the source of its investments, shell companies, etc.,” he said.

The party has reiterated its demand for a JPC into the transactions of the Adani Group, “which is leading to growing monopolisation in key sectors of the Indian economy, fuelling inflation, and posing huge foreign policy challenges as well, especially in our neighbourhood.”

The indictment mentions that Gautam Adani personally met with an Indian government official to advance a bribery scheme.

It is noteworthy that in 2021, the Communist Party of India (CPI) had demanded the Andhra Pradesh government disclose the details of a secret meeting between then chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and Adani, following which the Andhra Pradesh state cabinet adopted resolutions to allow Adani group to set up 9,000 megawatt solar power plants in the state.

The party had asked why the contract was given to Adani alone when several contractors, and some closer home, could be divided the project.

Could a ‘Transactional’ Trump Leverage the Pannun Case to Get Modi to Buy US Fighter Aircraft?

Such a gambit would eventually depend on the culpability levels of India’s security establishment in the Sikh activist’s intended killing, and the credibility of its denials which, so far, has been somewhat questionable.

Chandigarh: Donald Trump’s comeback to the US presidency has spawned optimistic speculation in Indian security and defence circles – that a line is likely to be drawn by his incoming administration under the disquieting issue regarding the Modi government’s alleged involvement in Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Pannun’s planned assassination in New York last year.

But a cross section of senior military veterans and analysts believe that any US willingness to help Modi bury l’affaire Pannun could come at a heavy price under Trump, which they anticipate may well be the $25-billion purchase of 114 US fighters by the Indian Air Force (IAF) as part of its long-pending Multi Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) requirement.

“The MRFA is needed as of yesterday,” Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh had declared last month in his annual presser, highlighting the criticality of timely platform procurements to sustain the IAFs operational readiness by boosting its fighter squadron numbers that had declined to 29-30 from a sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons. This former number will reduce further imminently, after the IAF’s two remaining ground attack MiG-21’Bison’ squadrons, comprising 40 legacy platforms, are number-plated or decommissioned next year.

Three US-origin combat aircraft are amongst eight overseas fighters potentially vying for the IAF’s MRFA buy. Analysts are of the view that the inbound Trump administration could possibly use the political leverage it clearly has over Delhi to acquire one such fighter type as an undeclared form of ‘blood money’ for Washington to diplomatically entomb the Pannun dispute. To be sure, legal proceedings on the Pannun case would continue in a New York court but care would then be taken to firewall the Indian establishment and its senior officials and leaders from embarrassing allegations of involvement.

The 78-year-old president-designate fancies himself as a master negotiator, capable of deploying his business acumen into the world of politics and diplomacy, especially by taking advantage of potentially profitable, but questionable, deals, including those involving allies.

In official circles in Delhi, Trump’s return to the White House is widely viewed as a boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP-led government that has faced a certain amount of unwelcome scrutiny from the Biden administration and Democratic lawmakers for avidly propagating Hindu nationalist policies domestically, and more, recently, allegedly planning and executing extra-judicial killings in the US and Canada.

A recent Bloomberg analysis of which world leaders would profit or lose from Trump’s return, anticipated that Modi would agree to deals with Washington, without the ‘finger wagging’ he has had to recently endure. It also goes on to state that a Trump presidency may not support Canada’s push to hold the Indian government accountable for the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Nijjar in British Columbia last June. Trump’s animosity towards and disdain for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is well known.

Other diplomatic and policy analysts in Delhi suggest that, for assorted security, strategic and commercial considerations, and in consonance with Trump’s personal equation with Modi, Washington’s new administration would summarily move towards concluding the Pannun affair, albeit gainfully, perhaps in exchange for US fighters for the IAF.

No serving or retired Indian military or security official, or diplomat, was willing to be named in commenting on such a sensitive and speculative matter, but many privately conceded that such a ‘trade-off’ could ensue, given Trump’s widely acknowledged ‘transactional’ propensities. “Trump is a typical businessman, forever looking to leverage his advantage for profit,” said a retired three-star IAF officer. It’s quite conceivable that Trump, along with his like-minded cabinet, could foresee a ‘ripe deal’ in settling the Pannun matter to suit a panicked Indian government, by manoeuvring it to their pecuniary benefit.

But what, after all, is the putative MRFA procurement, who are the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) competing for it and how favourably does the US line up in this race?

Delays in inducting some 180 variants of the indigenously developed Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) to replace legacy fighters like the MiG-21’s and 100-115 ageing SEPECAT Jaguars has prompted the MRFA acquisition, the request for proposal (RfP) or tender for which is likely to be dispatched sometime in 2025 or early the following year. In his October presser, ACM Singh had declared that if the under development advanced LCA- Mk2 and the MRFA purchase progress as planned, the IAF could conceivably deploy 36 fighter squadrons over the next decade.

The MRFA procurement envisages importing a squadron of 18 fighters in flyaway condition from a shortlisted OEM, six of whom responded to the IAFs April 2019 request for information (RfI) offering eight fighter types. The remaining 96 platforms would be built indigenously, via a collaborative venture between the qualified OEM and a domestic strategic partner (SP) from either the private or public sector, with progressively enhanced levels of indigenisation in a deal, currently estimated at around $25 billion.

The OEMs who responded to the RfI include Dassault (Rafale), Eurofighter (Typhoon), Sweden’s Saab (Gripen-E), Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation and Sukhoi Corporation (MiG-35 ‘Fulcrum-F’ and Su-35 ‘Flanker-E’ respectively) and the US’s Boeing and Lockheed Martin (F/A-18E/F ‘Super Hornet’ and F-15EX ‘Eagle’ II and the F-21, principally an upgraded F-16 derivative, configured specially for the IAF).

In view of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, evaluating the two fuel-intensive Russian fighters for eventual IAF acquisition was, according to senior officers ‘ totally irrational’, considering the grave spares and components crisis the force is facing with regard to its fleet of 259 multi-role Sukhoi-30 MKI’s and some 60 MiG-29UPG fighter-bombers.

“Delhi’s druzhba or friendship with Moscow, which sustained prodigious bilateral military commerce between the two, worth over $70 billion over nearly six decades, seems to have more-or-less run its course,” said former MoD acquisitions advisor Amit Cowshish. The materiel road for India, he added, now leads to Western vendors and towards fast-tracking ‘atmanirbharta‘ to indigenously develop weapon systems and platforms, or to a practical blend of the two, underscored by technology transfers.

The Typhoon had been rejected earlier during trials conducted 2010 onwards for the IAFs binned Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) contract floated in 2007, as were the Gripen-E and the US’s F-18 and the F-16 – the precursor to the F-21 – on multiple operational capability counts. Moreover, the Gripen-E and the F-21 were single-engine platforms, and though the MRFA RfI had not specified any preference for fighters with single or dual power packs, the IAFs intrinsic preference for the latter remains unstated. And though the OEM’s claimed that their platforms had since been equipped with newer and more advanced technologies and weaponry, the IAF, it seems, remained unimpressed.

Vajraang formation comprising of a C 130 Super Hercules transport aircraft in the centre flanked by two Rafale multirole fighters on either side on Republic Day, January 26, 2023. Photo: PIB

The Rafale, on the other hand, is favourably placed in the MRFA sweepstakes, due not only to its operational superiority over its competitors, as acknowledged by the IAF but more recently by the Indian Navy (N), that is negotiating the purchase of 26 Rafale-M (Maritime) fighters for deployment aboard INS Vikrant, India’s indigenously built aircraft carrier. Dassault had also recently secured clearance to establish a fully self-owned maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility near Jewar International airport in Uttar Pradesh to support not just the IAFs fleet of some-50-odd Mirage 2000Hs fighters and eventually 62 Rafales, including 26 of the IN, but also the 42 Rafale’ operated by the Indonesian Air Force, thereby enhancing its MRFA acceptability.

Once the purchase of 26 Rafale-Ms by the IN is completed, the Indian military would have an aggregate of 62 of these French fighters in its inventory. “Adding to these numbers makes eminent commercial, logistical and operational sense”, said military analyst Air Marshal V K ‘Jimmy’ Bhatia (retd). Besides, acquiring supplementary Rafales under the MRFA purchase, he added would also streamline the IAFs diverse fighter catalogue, which currently features seven different aircraft types, sustaining all of which was not only an enduring logistical challenge, but also a hugely expensive affair for the financially overstretched force.

But despite these obvious advantages favouring the Rafale, a slew of recent media reports, quoting unnamed official sources, ruled the French fighter out of the MRFA contest. These stated that the government wanted to ‘play safe’ by pursuing a ‘non-controversial path’ in executing the MRFA buy, since the IAFs 2016 purchase of 36 Dassault Rafale’s for around Rs 59,000 crore via a government-to-government deal, had become hugely contentious and a major parliamentary election issue in the 2019 polls. Allegations of wrongdoing in this purchase had also featured in the Supreme Court, where matters of national security were, perforce, made public, these reports claimed.

Moreover, these media accounts quoted unidentified defence officials as stating that even in the event of the Rafale being shortlisted as the IAFs MRFA choice, Dassault would be unable to supply the platforms for at least 10 years due to pending orders from various other countries. Such delays, the reports added, would undermine the MRFA programme’s urgency in making up IAF fighter squadron numbers swiftly, adversely impacting Rafale’s chances in the MRFA contest.

Hence, this process of elimination leaves only Boeing’s twin-engine F-15EX Eagle II all-weather multirole 4.5 generation fighter in the fray. Derived from the erstwhile McDonnell Douglas F-15E ‘Strike Eagle’ model dating back to the mid-1980s, the upgraded Eagle II conducted its first flight in 2021 and become operational in June 2024 with the US Air Force that, so far, has placed an order for 104 units.

Trump’s possible ‘aircraft-for-Pannun’ gambit would eventually depend on the culpability levels of India’s security establishment in the Sikh activist’s intended killing, and the credibility of its denials which, so far, has been somewhat questionable. If so, it’s conceivable that Trump’s scheme could prevail and perhaps lead to the IAF spending $25 billion to acquire a US-origin fighter.

‘Ludicrous’: India Rejects Canadian Media Report Alleging Modi’s Link to Sikh Separatist’s Murder

The report also claimed that not only Indian home minister Amit Shah, but also national security adviser Ajit Doval and external affairs minister S Jaishankar were “in the loop.”

New Delhi: India has dismissed a Canadian media report allegedly linking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a conspiracy to kill a Sikh separatist in Canada as “ludicrous” and a “smear campaign”, warning that that such allegations would only deepen the tension in bilateral ties.

In a statement on Wednesday night (November 20), the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We do not normally comment on media reports. However, such ludicrous statements made to a newspaper purportedly by a Canadian government source should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve.” He added that “campaigns like this only further damage our already strained ties.”

The Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail, reported on Wednesday that “Canadian security agencies believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India knew about the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia and other violent plots,” citing an unnamed “senior national-security official who worked on the intelligence assessment of New Delhi’s foreign-interference operations in Canada.”

The report also claimed that not only Indian home minister Amit Shah, but also national security adviser Ajit Doval and external affairs minister S Jaishankar were “in the loop.”

“While Canada does not have direct evidence that Mr. Modi knew, the official said the assessment is that it would be unthinkable that three senior political figures in India would not have discussed the targeted killings with Mr. Modi before proceeding,” said the report.

The newspaper also added a statement from the Privy Council Office that while the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said Indian government agents have been involved in serious criminal activity in Canada, there “have been no allegations made by the Government of Canada against Prime Minister Modi, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, or National Security Advisor Doval.”

The Privy Council Office’s statement did not mention Shah, although Canadian deputy foreign affairs minister David Morrison told a parliamentary panel last month that he had confirmed to a US newspaper that the home minister was “involved” in the plot to kill Canadian nationals.

On October 14, the Washington Post cited Canadian officials who claimed that they had informed the Indian government that “conversations and texts among Indian diplomats” expelled that day “include references” to Shah and a senior official in the research and analysis wing “who have authorised… intelligence-gathering missions and attacks on Sikh separatists” in Canada.

India subsequently summoned Canada’s acting deputy high commissioner Geoffrey Dean and handed him a diplomatic note protesting Morrison’s statements as “absurd” and “baseless”. “It was conveyed in the note that the government of India protests in the strongest terms to the absurd and baseless references made to the Union home minister of India before the committee by deputy minister David Morrison,” the external affairs ministry spokesperson said at a press briefing.

The diplomatic stand-off between India and Canada escalated in October as both nations expelled six diplomats each, including their respective top envoys.

Also read: Delhi Court Grants Vikash Yadav Exemption From Case Hearing Citing Security Concerns

On October 14, India revealed that Canada had identified six Indian diplomats, including high commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma, as “persons of interest” in a criminal investigation. In response, the external affairs ministry summoned Canada’s chargé d’affaires to announce the withdrawal of the diplomats and declared six Canadian diplomats as personae non gratae.

Simultaneously, Canada confirmed that it had issued expulsion notices to the six Indian diplomats stationed in Ottawa.

That same day, the RCMP held a press briefing, disclosing that their investigations extended beyond the Hardeep Singh Nijjar shooting and included evidence implicating Indian diplomats in allegedly using jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang to target Canadian nationals.

Gautam Adani Indicted in US Over ‘Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in Bribes to Indian Govt Officials’

The US Attorney’s Office statement says that Adani is accused of personally being involved in the scheme, that he met with an Indian government official to advance the scheme, which took place between 2020 to 2024. The Adani Group has denied the charges.

New Delhi: The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Attorney’s Office of the United States have charged billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani over his alleged role in what they have called is a “massive bribery scheme.” The Adani Group has called the charges “baseless” and denied them.

US law allows foreign corruption allegations to be investigated if they involve links to US markets.

The Attorney’ Office has it in its statement that Adani is accused of personally being involved in the scheme, that he met with an Indian government official to advance the scheme, which took place between 2020 to 2024. “The defendants frequently met and discussed the bribery scheme, including evidence on several phones,” it says.

“More than $250 million was promised in bribes to Indian government officials, to secure solar energy contracts,” it says.

Adani, who heads the Adani Group, and his nephew Sagar have been indicted for their roles as executives of Adani Green Energy Ltd. Cyril Cabanes, an executive of Azure Power Global Ltd, has also been charged.

The SEC’s complaint against Gautam and Sagar Adani charges them with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The complaint seeks permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and officer and director bars.

In parallel action, the Attorney’s Office’s five-count criminal indictment in a federal court in Brooklyn charges along with Gautam and Sagar Adani, Vneet S. Jaain, 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 indictment also charges Ranjit Gupta and Rupesh Agarwal, former executives of a renewable-energy company with securities that had traded on the New York Stock Exchange, 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 the bribery scheme.

“Gautam S. 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,” stated FBI assistant director in charge James E. Dennehy.

Bloomberg had reported in March this year that such an investigation was afoot. The Adani Group had then told the news outlet that it was not aware of any such probe against chairman Adani. “As a business group that operates with the highest standards of governance, we are subject to and fully compliant with anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws in India and other countries,” it had said.

Adani group stocks faced a heavy drubbing during early trade today, with Adani Energy and Adani Enterprises tumbling 20%.

Before the Adani Group officially responded, Adani Green Energy Ltd announced the decision to halt its proposed $600-million dollar-denominated bond issue. “The company announced its decision to scrap the bond issue in a regulatory filing, citing the indictment as the reason for its subsidiaries’ plans to defer the bond offering,” a report said.

Adani response: ‘We are a law-abiding organisation’

In a media statement, the group has said that allegations made by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against the directors of Adani Green are “baseless and denied.”

It sought to remind readers that the charges were allegations at present, quoting the US Department of Justice’s own disclaimer:

“As stated by the US Department of Justice itself, “the charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.” All possible legal recourse will be sought.”

The group said that it 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,” it added.

Attorney’s office charges

The Attorney’s Office breaks down the charges as such:

“…[B]etween 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).”

Noting, as mentioned above, that 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 indictment says that defendants “frequently discussed their efforts in furtherance of the bribery scheme, including through an electronic messaging application.”

Notably, in 2021, the Communist Party of India (CPI) had demanded the Andhra Pradesh government disclose the details of a secret meeting between then chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and Adani, following which the Andhra Pradesh state cabinet adopted resolutions to allow Adani group to set up 9,000 megawatt solar power plants in the state. The party had asked why the contract was given to Adani alone when several contractors, and some closer home, could be divided the project.

The Adanis and the other indicted executives also extensively documented their corrupt efforts, the Attorney Office indictment alleges. “For example, Sagar R. 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).”

Adani, Sagar Adani and Jaain also allegedly conspired to misrepresent Adani Green’s anti-bribery and corruption practices and conceal the bribery scheme from US investors and international financial institutions in order to obtain financing, including to fund those solar energy supply contracts procured through bribery.

Indian stock exchanges mentioned

It is noteworthy that the US Attorney’s Office noted that in March this year, Individual #2 [names of some individuals and financial institutions have been anonymised in the public copy of the indictment] “emailed employees of Financial Institution #2, Financial Institution #3 and Financial Institution #4 letters that the Indian Energy Company had sent to the National Stock Exchange of India and BSE Limited, both Indian stock exchanges.”

It said, “The letters falsely stated, among other things, that the Indian Energy Company “has not received any notice from the Department of Justice of U.S. in respect of the allegation referred to in the [2024 News Article]” and that the Indian Energy Company was “aware of an investigation” into potential violations of United States anti-corruption laws by a “third party.””

SEC charges

According to the SEC’s allegations, the bribery scheme was orchestrated to enable the two renewable energy companies to capitalise on a multi-billion-dollar solar energy project that the companies had been awarded by the Indian government. “During the alleged scheme, Adani Green raised more than $175 million from US investors and Azure Power’s stock was traded on the New York Stock Exchange,” the statement by the SEC said.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Gautam and Sagar Adani “orchestrated a bribery scheme that involved paying or promising to pay the equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to Indian government officials” to secure their commitment to purchase energy at above-market rates that would benefit Adani green and Azure Power.

The scheme was allegedly in play in 2021, when in a note offering, Adani Green claimed that it raised $750 million, including approximately $175 million from US investors. “The Adani Green offering materials included statements about its anti-corruption and anti-bribery efforts that were materially false or misleading in light of Gautam and Sagar Adani’s conduct,” the SEC has said.

The charge against Cyril Cabanes, a former member of Azure Power’s Board of Directors, is under the US’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). According to the SEC’s complaint, Cabanes allegedly facilitated the authorisation of bribes in furtherance of the scheme while in the United States and abroad.

“As alleged, Gautam and Sagar Adani induced US 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, and Cyril Cabanes participated in the underlying bribery scheme while serving as director of a US public company,” said Sanjay Wadhwa, Acting Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement said.

“We will continue to vigorously pursue and hold individuals, including senior corporate officers and directors, accountable when they violate our securities laws.”

This article is being updated with details as they come in.