US. authorities have charged Adani and seven associates with bribing officials to secure lucrative solar power contracts in Andhra Pradesh. As the state government reviews the deal, questions arise about the integrity of the agreement, which involved the purchase of 7 gigawatts of solar power—the largest such deal in India.
By PC Bureau
In a further setback for the embattled Adani group, the Andhra Pradesh government is scrutinizing its power supply contract with the Adani Group, following a high-profile U.S. indictment accusing billionaire Gautam Adani and his associates of paying bribes to Indian officials.
The charges, which allege the payment of $265 million in bribes to secure solar power contracts across several Indian states, are casting a long shadow over the integrity of the deals brokered during the previous administration.
According to the U.S. indictment, Adani and his partners are said to have bribed government officials between 2021 and 2022, with the largest portion—$228 million—allegedly directed towards Andhra Pradesh. The bribe was intended to ensure the state’s electricity distribution companies would purchase power from Adani’s ventures. The resulting deal would have seen approximately seven gigawatts of solar power bought by the state—a massive, record-breaking agreement that stands as the largest of its kind in India.
As the controversy unfolds, Andhra Pradesh’s Finance Minister, Payyavula Keshav, confirmed that the state government is now digging into internal files from the previous administration, under which the alleged misconduct occurred. Keshav emphasized that the government is exploring all possible options, including the potential cancellation of the contract. “We are thoroughly reviewing all files, and we will carefully consider our next steps,” he stated.
The Adani Group, for its part, has vehemently denied the allegations, calling them unfounded. However, the charges have taken a significant toll on Adani’s business empire, with shares and bonds of the Adani Group taking a hit since the indictment was made public. In another setback for the group, French oil giant TotalEnergies, which holds a 20% stake in Adani Green Energy, announced it would halt any further investments in the company.
In an intriguing development, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also noted a meeting between Adani and then-Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in August 2021. The SEC’s indictment reveals that the discussion centered on the delay in finalizing a power supply agreement between the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and the state. The meeting allegedly involved negotiations over “incentives” needed to secure Andhra Pradesh’s agreement to purchase a staggering 7,000 MW of solar power.
SECI, a government-owned entity, is responsible for driving India’s renewable energy initiatives. The SEC’s indictment claims that Adani either paid or promised to pay a bribe to officials to push the state government into signing a power supply agreement for the vast solar energy deal.
