Gautam Adani Failed to Inform SEBI of FBI Raid & US Investigation, Lied When He Denied They Happened

Gautam Adani failed to inform SEBI of the FBI raid and US investigation but also lied when he denied they happened: Sucheta Dalal, Managing Editor, Moneylife, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.

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Sucheta Dalal, the Managing Editor of Moneylife and India’s foremost financial journalist, says the 54-page US indictment of Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar and six other people, for allegedly giving bribes of around $265 million to various Indian government officials for securing power purchasing agreements during the period 2020-2024 is a detailed document which reveals that not only did Gautam Adani fail to inform SEBI and the Indian stock exchange of the FBI raid in March 2023 and the US Department of Justice investigation, which he was required to do, but, thereafter, lied when he denied that either had happened. A Bloomberg story of March 2024 says the Adani Group told the news agency “we are not aware of any investigation against our Chairman”.



Sucheta Dalal says the 54-page US indictment has “established” that the Adani Group paid bribes and was thus in breach of America’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. “The connection seems, on the face of it, pretty well established”, she said. She was referring to the connection between the Adani Group raising money in America and the claim that they paid bribes in India.



I will stop there because I do not want to convey the wrong impression about what I believe is an extremely important interview which you need to see for yourself. Sucheta Dalal has explained in simple, easy to follow terms the charges against Adani, the details contained in the 54-page indictment, the implications for the Adani Group – which have already begun – whether the Adani Group informed the stock exchange of the FBI raid in March 2023 and the US investigation, which they are required to do, the allegation that five separate state governments comprising five separate ruling parties were allegedly involved in bribe-taking – they are Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Jammu & Kashmir – whether the US Department of Justice or the US SEC would have shared information with SEBI, how it is that the US has found so many details about Adani whilst SEBI, who has been investigating Adani since 2021, has little to show and a whole host of questions about what the warrant of arrest means for Adani, whether he can travel to the US or other European countries, whether America will seek his extradition, whether Trump will view this differently when he becomes president and whether the Indian system or Mr. Modi can act to help Mr. Adani. At the end of the interview, Sucheta Dalal also talks about the Adani Group statement denying the bribery allegations and calling them baseless. She’s asked how she views that statement and its credibility.



Answers to all these issues are in the interview. You will see them together with the questions that comprise the most important questions that need to be asked. Sucheta Dalal gives you the answers in a forthright, clear, easy to follow manner without prevarication or hesitation.



To help you, I give below the list of questions asked:



1) I want to talk to you about the indictment in the United States of Gautam Adani, his nephew and six other people for alleged bribes of $265 million to various Indian government officials for securing power purchasing agreements during the period 2020-2024. Since this is not just new but an astonishing story for most people, let me start with a few general questions. First, what exactly are the charges against Gautam Adani?



2) Second, you have read the 54-page indictment. What are the main details of the case against Adani? In other words, what is the outline of what the US Department of Justice and SEC have found?



3) Third, what are the implications for the Adani Group? For a start, I presume it will become a lot more difficult for them to raise money in the west and given that 70% of Adani finance is from western sources this could be a very serious constraint.



Cancelled a $600 million bond issue.



Kenya has cancelled contracts worth 2.5 billion.



4) Now the US Department of Justice and the US SEC have been working on this case for at least 18 months. The indictment reveals that the FBI searched Adani’s nephew Sagar in March 2023, took custody of his electronic devices and served him a subpoena. The search warrant identified offences and conspiracies against Sagar and his uncle Gautam Adani. The Adani Group was required to inform the Indian stock exchange of this. Do you believe they did?

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