Adani met Jagan Reddy in 2021, promised bribes, says US regulator

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has alleged that Gautam Adani met then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy in August 2021 to address the state’s reluctance to sign an agreement with the government-run Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). According to the SEC’s court filings, “incentives” were discussed to secure the agreement.
However, Jagan Reddy’s party, which was in power between 2019-2024, said its government had no “direct agreement” with the Adani Group.
The SEC filing mentioned that “at or in connection with that meeting, Gautam Adani paid or promised a bribe to Andhra Pradesh government officials” to enter into power supply agreements with the SECI. However, it does not mention the bribe amount promised.
However, the indictment by the US Justice Department, which charged Adani with bribery and fraud, mentioned that a Rs 1,750 crore bribe was offered to an unnamed Andhra Pradesh government official (Foreign Official #1).
Days after the meeting, Andhra Pradesh agreed to purchase seven gigawatts of power from the SECI. It was then the largest amount of solar power procured by any state. “In other words, the bribes paid or promised worked,” the US regulator said.
SECI awarded tenders to the Adani Group and Azure Power in 2020 to supply 12 gigawatts of solar-generated electricity at a specified price. However, SECI couldn’t find buyers to purchase the solar power due to high prices.
According to US investigators, after SECI was unable to find buyers, Adani and Azure had conspired to offer bribes to state officials. The Adani Group paid USD 265 million in bribes to secure contracts with state electricity distribution companies between 2021-2023. Apart from Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir also decided to sign up for solar power.
The SEC said that Adani not only misrepresented the fact that Adani Green had a robust anti-bribery compliance program but also that the “company’s senior management had not and would not pay or promise to pay bribes”.
The Adani Group has, however, called the allegations baseless and said it would take legal action.
Jagan Reddy’s YSRCP said its government had no direct agreement with the Adani Group and the agreement signed in 2021 was between the SECI and power distribution companies (Discoms). “The allegations made on the state government, in the light of the indictment are incorrect,” YSRCP tweeted.
In a post on X, YSRCP said the seven gigawatts power procurement was approved by the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission in November 2021. Following it, an agreement was signed on December 1, 2021, between SECI and AP Discoms.
The party said the agreement with SECI was also approved by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission. As per the pact, SECI would supply 7 gigawatts of solar power at Rs 2.49 per kWh for a 25-year period.
“The project is extremely favourable with respect to the interests of the state and procurement of power at such a cheap rate would substantially benefit the state with a saving of Rs. 3,700 crores per annum,” YSRCP further said.
On the other hand, the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has chosen to stay mum and not reply to the US charges. “We need to study the report before coming to a conclusion. It would take two to three days,” said TDP spokesperson Kommareddy Pattabhiram.