The Adani Group on Thursday rejected the bribery allegations leveled by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and US Department of Justice against the directors of Adani Green.
They called it baseless, and said, “As stated by the US Department of Justice itself, the charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.”
“All possible legal recourse will be sought,” it added.
It said that the Adani Group has always upheld and steadfastly committed to maintaining the highest standards of governance, transparency, and regulatory compliances across all jursidictions of its operations.
“We assure our stakeholders, partners and employees that we are a law-abiding organisation, fully compliant with all laws,” the statement read.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has alleged that Adani and others conspired to pay about $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts for Adani Green Energy, the renewable energy arm of the Adani Group.
The SEC alleged that the incident occurred during a September 2021 offering by Adani Green that raised $750 million, including $175 million from US investors.
The offering materials falsely claimed anti-corruption efforts, deceiving US investors, the complaint further stated.
The charges against the Adanis include violations of the antifraud provisions of federal securities laws. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and bans on them serving as officers or directors of public companies.
The SEC has charged Adani with defrauding US investors by concealing that Adani Green’s India-based solar energy project was allegedly facilitated through bribery.
Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and Vneet Jaain of Adani Green Energy were charged with securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, and wire fraud conspiracy. The Adanis were also charged in a US Securities and Exchange Commission civil case.