“Intimate Nexus”: Jairam Ramesh’s Swipe At PM Modi After Adani Charged With Bribery
New Delhi: After the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani and others with alleged bribery and fraud, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged that they paid over $250 million in bribes to the Indian government to secure “lucrative solar energy supply contracts” which were projected to generate over $2 billion (Rs 16,800 crore) in profits after tax for Adani Green and Azure Power over two decades.
In a post on X, Jairam Ramesh said that the five-count indictment of Adani, Sagar Adani, and others by the US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York, revealed that over $250 million (Rs 2,100 crore) in bribes were paid to Indian government officials between 2020 and 2024.
Also Read | Gautam Adani Charged With Bribery And Fraud: Billion-Dollar Scandal Defrauding American Investors
“It states that the bribes were paid ‘to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts with the Indian government, which were projected to generate more than $2 billion (Rs 16,800 crore) in profits after tax,”’ stated the Congress leader.
The indictment also alleged that “on several occasions, Gautam S. Adani personally met with an Indian government official to advance the Bribery Scheme.” Ramesh said that the indictment claims to have electronic and cellular phone evidence of the same.
Slamming the central government led by PM Modi, the Congress leader said, “All of this is consistent with a long record of fraud and criminality carried out with impunity with the obvious protection of the Prime Minister. The fact that it has taken a foreign jurisdiction to properly investigate Adani only shows how Indian institutions have been captured by the BJP, and how decades of institutional development have been undone by greedy and power hungry leaders.”
The party called for the appointment of a “new and credible SEBI head” to complete the securities law investigation into the “Adani MegaScam.”
Congress said it “vindicates” its demand for making a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation into the several alleged scams. Highlighting its ‘Hum Adani ke Hain (HAHK) series’ about the “intimate nexus” between the PM and his “favourite businessman,” Congress slammed the “abject failure” of SEBI to investigate the Adani Group.
The five-count indictment of Gautam S Adani, Sagar R Adani and others unsealed by the US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York has revealed more shocking details about Adani’s criminal activities. It alleges that they paid over $250 million (Rs 2,100 crore) in bribes to… https://t.co/PTcjMzLwBh
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) November 21, 2024
“The INC reiterates its demand for a JPC into the transactions of the Adani Group, which is leading to growing monopolisation in key sectors of the Indian economy, fueling inflation, and posing huge foreign policy challenges as well, especially in our neighbourhood,” added Ramesh.
Also Read | Gautam Adani, Company Executives Indicted In US For Bribery Charges: 10 Points
On Wednesday, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York charged Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and other senior executives from Adani Green Energy and Azure Power Global in a bribery and fraud scandal.
The executives are accused of misleading U.S. investors and financial institutions to raise funds. Adani is accused of personally meeting with Indian officials and discussing the bribery scheme through encrypted messaging applications to avoid detection.
