Billionaire businessman Guatman Adani has described as baseless fraud allegations charges pressed against him in the United States of America.
In a statement on Thursday, the Adani Group spokesperson denied the allegations by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The spokesperson stated that Adani remains innocent until proven guilty.
“The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty," the spokesperson said.
The Group affirmed its respect for the rule of law in all jurisdictions that it operates in saying all possible legal recourse will be sought.
“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 operation,” the statement read.
“We assure our stakeholders, partners and employees that we are a law –abiding organization fully compliant with all law.”
Adani was on Wednesday indicted in New York over an alleged multibillion-dollar fraud scheme, U.S. prosecutors said.
Adani was charged alongside two other executives at Adani Green Energy, his nephew Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain, with agreeing between 2020 and 2024 to pay more than approximately Sh32.4 billion ($250 million) in bribes to Indian government officials to obtain solar energy supply contracts expected to yield $2 billion in profits.
“The defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars,” US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said in a statement.
According to court records, a judge has issued arrest warrants for Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani, and prosecutors plan to hand those warrants to foreign law enforcement.
Seven of the eight defendants are Indian citizens and lived in India, while the eighth, Cyril Cabanes, is a dual French-Australian citizen who lived in Singapore, prosecutors said.
Notably, Adani has interests in Kenya where he is seeking to invest in key infrastructure projects.
His company has secured several key deals, including in the transport and energy sectors.
These include the proposed upgrading of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), which is still awaiting approval, and a signed agreement with Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) for the construction of transmission lines and sub-stations.
