Adani ‘bribery’ case: Does Andhra Pradesh plan to cancel power deal with Adani group?

The Andhra Pradesh government is reviewing official documents and will explore the possibility of canceling power supply contracts linked to the Adani Group, the news agency reported. ReutersState Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav was quoted as saying on November 26.

Keshav told news agencies on Monday that the Andhra Pradesh government was “digging out all the internal files of the previous government” where alleged wrongdoing occurred.

“We will also look at what next steps can be taken, such as whether there is a possibility of canceling the contract… The state government is looking into the issue closely,” the minister reportedly said.

A spokesman for Adani Group did not immediately respond to the agency’s inquiry about the development.

The indictment issued by U.S. authorities also alleges that after paying alleged bribes to Indian officials, Andhra Pradesh’s power distribution company entered into a power supply agreement to purchase “approximately 7 gigawatts of solar power, the largest amount of solar power in India to date.” largest supply of electricity.” the agency reported.

The state’s former ruling YSR Congress party last week denied any wrongdoing.

French oil major TotalEnergies, which owns 20% of Adani Green Energy Ltd, on Monday suspended further investments in the Adani Group. The crackdown by U.S. authorities is one of the biggest setbacks the Adani Group has faced since the Hindenburg report on Adani was released in January 2023.

Shares of Adani Enterprises Ltd were down 3.51% in Tuesday’s trading session as of 2:46 p.m. $2,178.40 compared to $The previous market close was 2,257.65.

U.S. indictment

Andhra Pradesh’s move comes as Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani is indicted in the US in connection with a bribery case.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and others with bribery and fraud. The individuals allegedly paid $265 million to unnamed Indian government officials between 2021 and 2022 in the hope of gaining access to the states of Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Chattisgarh. Solar power projects in Kashmir and Kashmir.

Most of the $228 million in alleged bribes were paid to a government official to get Andhra Pradesh’s state-owned power distribution company to agree to buy power from the Adani Group, the news agency said, citing the SEC’s indictment. .

On November 21, Adani Group officially denied the accusations, calling them baseless.