Adani should be arrested, says Rahul Gandhi .... What's the case ?? Why hungama in the US ??

US prosecutors have accused Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and six others of paying Rs 2,029 crore ($265 million) in bribes between 2020 and 2024 to Indian government officials to secure solar power contracts with state electricity distribution companies.

Gautam Adani bribery case: US prosecutors indicted Gautam Adani and 7 others for allegedly paying Rs 2,029 crore in bribes to Indian government officials for securing solar power contracts. 

What is the case?  

The Adani Group has of course dismissed the charges levelled by the US prosecutors as "baseless" and maintained that it operates with the highest standards of integrity and compliance.

Trouble mounted for Gautam Adani after US prosecutors indicted the Adani Group chairperson, his nephew Sagar Adani and six others for allegedly paying Rs 2,029 crore ($265 million) in bribes to Indian government officials for securing solar power contracts with state electricity distribution companies, says 'India Today. 

The bribes were allegedly paid between 2020 and 2024.  The US prosecutors claimed that this fact was concealed from the US banks and investors from whom the Adani Group raised billions for the solar energy project. 

The Adani Group hoped to rake in $2 billion in profits by securing the energy contracts.

Although the bribery charges are linked to Indian officials, American law allows it to pursue corruption cases if they involve American investors or markets.  The period in which the bribes were allegedly paid coincides with the release of a damning report by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research in 2023. The report accused the Adani Group of stock manipulation and accounting fraud. It triggered a $150 billion loss in the Adani Group's market value.

But, what is the case in which Gautam Adani has been indicted? We decode the intricacies of the case for you.

As per the US indictment, Gautam Adani is mentioned as the founder and chairperson of an "Indian Energy Company", which is the centre of the row. Sagar Adani is mentioned as the executive director of the energy company (Adani Green Energy).

Ranjit Gupta, who was the CEO of Azure Power, and Rupesh Agarwal, consultant and CEO at Azure Power, are mentioned as working for a "US Issuer".

The US prosecutors said the "Indian Energy Company" and the "US Issuer" bagged a contract to provide 12 gigawatts of solar power to state-owned Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

However, SECI couldn't find buyers in India to purchase the solar power. Without buyers, the deal couldn't move forward, and both companies risked losing the profits they expected. It was then that Adani Group and Azure Power came up with a plan to offer bribes to Indian government officials.

In return, government officials would persuade state electricity distribution companies to enter into power supply agreements with SECI. They promised around $265 million in bribes, with a large portion directed at officials in Andhra Pradesh.

Following this, some state electricity companies entered into an agreement with the SECI to buy solar power from the two companies. "The Indian energy company and the US Issuer worked closely to split the bribe payments," the indictment said.

US prosecutors further said that to hide their involvement, the conspirators used code names. For example, Gautam Adani was called "Numero Uno" or "The Big Man". The communication was via encrypted messaging.

The Adani group dismissed the charges as "baseless".

"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 Adani Group spokesperson said. 

 "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," the statement added.

The group’s denial comes amid heightened volatility in its stock prices, with Adani Enterprises witnessing a steep plunge of 23% in Thursday’s trading session. It may be noted that the market capitalisation of the Adani Group fell over Rs 2 lakh crore, making it the worst trading day for the conglomerate since the Hindenburg crisis on January 25, 2025.