Congress presses for JPC after Rs 2,100 crore bribery charges against Gautam Adani in US

New Delhi: The Congress Party on Thursday reiterated its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation into the various allegations against Adani Group companies following the US market regulator Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and executives of Adani Green Energy in a bribery case.

"The indictment of Gautam Adani and others by the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) of the US vindicates the demand that the Indian National Congress has been making since Jan 2023 for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation into the various Modani scams," senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh said.

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The indictment of Gautam Adani and others by the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) of the US vindicates the demand that the Indian National Congress has been making since Jan 2023 for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation into the various Modani scams. The…

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) November 21, 2024 >

Ramesh also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alluding to the 'intimate nexus between the PM and his favourite businessman.'

"The SEC's actions also cast poor light on the manner in which its Indian counterpart, namely SEBI, has gone about investigating violations of securities and other laws by the Adani Group and its abject failure to hold the Group to account for the source of its investments, shell companies, etc," he said.

Billionaire Adani group chief Gautam Adani and other senior executives have been indicted in New York over their role in an alleged multibillion-dollar bribery and fraud scheme. The indictment alleges schemes to pay over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials, to lie to investors and banks to raise billions of dollars, and to obstruct justice.

Reacting to the development, Jairam Ramesh said, "The five-count indictment of Gautam S Adani, Sagar R Adani and others unsealed by the US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York has revealed more shocking details about Adani’s criminal activities."

"It alleges that they paid over $250 million (Rs 2,100 crore) in bribes to Indian government officials between 2020 and 2024. It states that the bribes were paid “to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts with the Indian government, which were projected to generate more than $2 billion (Rs 16,800 crore) in profits after tax.”

It alleges that “on several occasions, Gautam S Adani personally met with an Indian government official to advance the Bribery Scheme” and claims to have electronic and cellular phone evidence of this," Ramesh wrote on 'X'.