Adani Green Energy Ltd. has decided to scrap its $600 million bond sale after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pressed charges against the group chairman Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, its former CEO Vneet Jaain, and Cyril Cabanes, an executive of Azure Power Global Ltd., in a bribery case.
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“The United States Department of Justice and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission have issued a criminal indictment and brought a civil complaint, respectively, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, against our Board members, Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani,” the group wrote in an exchange filing on Thursday, November 21, 2024.
“The United States Department of Justice have also included our Board member, Vneet Jaain, in such criminal indictment,” it added. “In light of these developments, our subsidiaries have presently decided not to proceed with the proposed USD denominated bond offerings.”
What are charges against Adani Group?
The SEC charged Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and Cyril Cabanes, an executive of Azure Power Global Ltd, for misleading US investors, alleging a massive bribery scheme with the Indian government.
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The US market regulator said the scheme was to secure the Indian government’s commitment to buy energy from them at above-market rates, which would benefit Adani Green and Azure Power.
The SEC said that during the alleged scheme, Adani Green raised more than $750 million from investors and $175 million from US investors, with Azure Power’s stock also being traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
The SEC’s complaint seeks permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and officer and director bars.
“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. “We will continue to vigorously pursue and hold individuals, including senior corporate officers and directors, accountable when they violate our securities laws.”
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