Gautam Adani, a prominent Indian billionaire and one of the wealthiest individuals globally, has been indicted by U.S. prosecutors for his suspected involvement in a $265 million bribery scheme, marking yet another significant crisis for his business empire within two years.

The 62-year-old billionaire faces a five-count criminal indictment revealed on Wednesday, including charges of securities and wire fraud conspiracies, as well as direct securities fraud. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York alleges that Adani and seven other defendants made bribes totaling $265 million to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts valued at over $2 billion in profits.

According to Deputy Assistant Attorney General Miller, “These offenses were allegedly carried out by high-ranking executives to acquire and finance significant state energy contracts through corruption and deception, harming U.S. investors.”

Prosecutors claim that from 2020 to 2024, Adani and his co-defendants participated in face-to-face meetings to plan the bribery operation. The indictment references how some co-conspirators privately referred to Adani as “Numero uno” and “the big man.”

During this timeframe, Adani reportedly met with an Indian government official to promote the bribery scheme. Prosecutors stated that the defendants meticulously documented their illegal activities, using phones to record bribes and creating presentations in PowerPoint and Excel to outline various methods of distributing and hiding payments.

Allegations further claim that Adani, along with two executives from Adani Green Energy—his nephew Sagar Adani and former CEO Vneet Jaain—raised over $3 billion in loans and bonds for the contracts by deceiving lenders and investors about their adherence to anti-bribery regulations.

Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and Jaain are facing charges for securities fraud and conspiracies related to securities fraud and wire fraud, as stated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Additionally, the Adanis have been named in a civil case by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for breaching securities laws.

The remaining five defendants are accused of conspiring to breach the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a federal law aimed at preventing corruption, while four of them are also charged with conspiring to obstruct justice.

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace’s representative informed Reuters that none of the accused individuals are currently detained, and Gautam Adani is believed to be residing in India.

Who is Gautam Adani?

With a net worth estimated at $85.5 billion, Gautam Adani ranks as the 18th richest person globally and the second richest in Asia, trailing only Mukesh Ambani, chair of Reliance Industries, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.

Born in Gujarat, India, Adani dropped out of school at the age of 16. He founded Adani Group in 1988, initially as a trading company.

Under his leadership, the company has expanded into a vast enterprise that includes interests in managing ports and airports, power generation and distribution, mining, and infrastructure, among other sectors.

The indictment came shortly after Adani raised $600 million from selling 20-year green bonds. Last week, Adani announced plans for a $10 billion investment in U.S. energy security and infrastructure projects via social media platform X, previously known as Twitter.

Earlier this year, the Adani Group faced accusations from U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research regarding significant stock manipulation and accounting fraud, allegations which the company has denied. This report led to a staggering $150 billion drop in Adani Group’s stock value.

Adani has long been viewed as a close collaborator of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both hailing from Gujarat. Their relationship dates back to 2002 and has strengthened as both individuals rose in their respective fields of business and politics, according to reports from The Guardian and CNBC.

Political rivals of Modi claim that he has shielded Adani and his businesses from scrutiny, including from Hindenburg’s allegations, which Modi has declared as “falsehoods and insults.”

Who else is involved in the bribery case?

The indictment also includes charges against Ranjit Gupta and Rupesh Agarwal, former CEO and chief strategy and commercial officer of Azure Power Global, whose securities were traded on the New York Stock Exchange, according to prosecutors.

Other defendants—Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, and Deepak Malhotra—are former employees of Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, a Canadian investment firm. Cabanes, also an Azure director, faces charges along with the Adanis in the SEC civil case.

All implicated in the bribery scheme are Indian nationals, except Cabanes, who holds dual citizenship in France and Australia and resided in Singapore, as per prosecutors’ statements.

Court records indicate that arrest warrants have been issued for both Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani, with prosecutors aiming to coordinate with international law enforcement to enforce these warrants.