Indian billionaire speaks out for first time after being indicted by the US

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has spoken out for the first time about US allegations that he was involved in a bribery scheme to win lucrative contracts.

At the award ceremony on November 30 in India, Mr. Gautam Adani, founder of Adani Group, mentioned that US judicial officials recently accused Adani Green Energy (a subsidiary of Adani Group) of violating regulations in the US.

“This is not the first time we have faced such a challenge,” Reuters quoted Mr. Adani as saying.

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani

The US Justice Department on November 20 indicted Mr. Adani and several senior executives of his subsidiaries, accusing them of promising to pay about $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar power contracts that were expected to generate more than $2 billion in after-tax profits over about 20 years. The US also issued arrest warrants for Mr. Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, CEO of Adani Green Energy.

Adani Group considers the allegations from the US baseless and announced that it will take legal action.

“What I can tell you is that every attack makes us stronger and every setback becomes a stepping stone for Adani Group to be more resilient,” billionaire Gautam Adani said at the event on November 30. “In today’s world, negativity spreads faster than the truth and as we move forward with the legal process, I want to reaffirm our absolute commitment to world-class regulatory compliance,” he added.

The Indian government said it has not received any requests from the US regarding the incident.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of November 29, Mr. Gautam Adani is the 20th richest person in the world, with a net worth of 75.5 billion USD. He also holds the position of the 2nd richest person in Asia, behind his compatriot Mukesh Ambani.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ti-phu-an-do-lan-dau-len-tieng-sau-khi-bi-my-truy-to-185241201064752588.htm