Chairperson of Indian conglomerate Adani Group, Gautam Adani, speaks at the World Congress of Accountants in Mumbai on Nov. 19, 2022.INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images
Prosecutors in the United States have charged three former executives of Quebec-based pension fund manager Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec with obstructing an investigation into an alleged bribery scheme involving Indian billionaire Gautam Adani.
The charges filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, N.Y., allege that Mr. Adani and executives from energy subsidiaries of his business conglomerate conspired in a scheme to pay more than US$250-million in bribes to Indian government officials. The payments were allegedly to help secure favourable contracts tied to a major solar energy project.
The prosecutors allege that the scheme was concealed from U.S. banks and investors, from whom the defendants raised billions of dollars.
Mr. Adani is one of the world’s richest people with an estimated net worth of nearly US$70-billion, according to Forbes, and has close ties to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Separately, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Mr. Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, as well as Cyril Cabanes, a former managing director of infrastructure for the Asia Pacific region at the Caisse, “for conduct arising out of a massive bribery scheme.”
New York prosecutors also charged Mr. Cabanes as well as former managing director of CDPQ India Saurabh Agarwal and Deepak Malhotra, a former director of infrastructure for South Asia at the Caisse, with conspiracy to obstruct justice.
The charges allege that the three executives, who were then employed by the Caisse, tried to thwart an investigation by deleting emails and presentations that summarized the bribes, and misled investors from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Justice Department and the SEC.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
“CDPQ is aware of charges filed in the U.S. against certain former employees. Those employees were all terminated in 2023 and CDPQ is cooperating with U.S. authorities. In light of the pending cases, we have no further comment at this time.”
Court filings allege that Mr. Agarwal and Mr. Malhotra, who were based in India, first learned about the bribery scheme late in 2021, and shared that information with Mr. Cabanes. When communicating about the scheme, the filing alleges, they often referred to Mr. Adani and another defendant by code names such as “Numero uno” and “the big man.”
After authorities launched investigations, the three executives then employed by the Caisse used a strategy “designed to create the appearance that the co-conspirators were reporting misconduct rather than perpetrating misconduct,” prosecutors allege. They also allege the three men “destroyed or otherwise concealed evidence.”
The charges appear to relate to Azure Power Global Ltd., a New-Delhi-based company that saw its share price plunge in 2022 when it announced the resignation of its CEO and a whistle-blower complaint. That wiped out hundreds of millions of dollars of value from investment portfolios held by the Caisse and Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, which together owned a majority stake in Azure.
Mr. Cabanes, who was based in Singapore, was formerly a member of Azure’s board of directors.
The charges filed in New York identify an “Indian Energy Company” that specialized in renewable energy, headquartered in India, as well as another renewable energy company identified as the “U.S. Issuer.” The SEC complaint appears to identify those companies as Adani Green Energy Ltd. and Azure Power.
It says the bribery scheme paid Indian government officials to secure promises to buy energy at above-market rates that would benefit the companies.
“As alleged, the defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars,” said Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, in a statement. Mr. Adani and two other defendants “lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from U.S. and international investors.”