Gautam Adani charged in US with bribery, fraud

Gautam ani, billionaire chair of Indian conglomerate ani Group and one of world's richest people, has been indicted in New York over his role in a $265 million bribery scheme, according to U.S. prosecutors.

Authorities said ani and seven or defendants, including his nephew Sagar ani, agreed to pay bribes to Indian government officials to obtain contracts expected to yield $2 billion of profit over 20 years, and develop India's largest solar power plant project.

A judge has issued arrest warrants for Gautam ani and Sagar ani and prosecutors plan to hand those warrants to foreign law enforcement, court records show. fallout for ani empire was immediate.

ani Green Energy (NA.NS) cancelled plans on Thursday to raise $600 million in U.S. dollar-denominated bonds, according to four sources with direct knowledge of matter. bond h been priced but was pulled following news.

ani Green Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on shelved transaction. In early Asian tring on Thursday, ani dollar bonds slumped, with prices down between 3-5c on bonds for ani Ports and Special Economic Zone. falls were largest since ani Group came under a short-seller attack in February 2023.

Prosecutors also said anis and anor executive at ani Green Energy, former CEO Vneet Jaain, raised more than $3 billion in loans and bonds by hiding ir corruption from lenders and investors. According to indictment, some conspirators referred privately to Gautam ani with code names "Numero uno" and " big man," while Sagar ani allegedly used his cellphone to track specifics about bribes.

ani Group has not responded to requests for comment on indictment. Shares in GQG Partners, an Australia-listed investment firm that is a major ani backer, slid 20%. decline was stock's largest one-day fall since it listed three years ago. GQG last year bought 3.4% of ani Enterprises (EL.NS) - group's flagship firm, 4.1% of ani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS), 2.5% of ani Transmission and 3.5% of ani Green Energy. It said in a statement that it was monitoring charges.