Gautam Adani ‘bribery’ case: Who is Sagar Adani and what’s his role in the alleged scheme?

The United States Securities Market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), on November 20 (U.S. time), charged Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani among others for their alleged involvement in a multibillion-dollar bribery and fraud scheme.

“The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani, executives of Adani Green Energy Ltd., and Cyril Cabanes, an executive of Azure Power Global Ltd., for conduct arising out of a massive bribery scheme,” said the securities regulator. 

The SEC alleged that the scheme was carried out to enable the two renewable energy companies to capitalize on a multi-billion-dollar solar energy project opportunity. The regulator also claimed that Adani Green raised more than $175 million from U.S. investors and Azure Power’s stock was traded on the NYSE.

“As alleged, Gautam and Sagar Adani were engaged in the bribery scheme during a September 2021 note offering by Adani Green that raised $750 million, including approximately $175 million from U.S. investors. The Adani Green offering materials included statements about its anti-corruption and anti-bribery efforts that were materially false or misleading in light of Gautam and Sagar Adani’s conduct,” the filing added.

Who is Sagar Adani?

Sagar Adani is the Executive Director of Adani Green Energy Limited (AEGL). He joined the Adani Group in 2015 after graduating from Brown University in the United States with an Economics degree. Sagar Adani is the nephew of Gautam Adani, Chairperson of the Adani Group. 

Sagar Adani started his career in “Projects”, and the Adani Group credited him for being responsible for building Adani Green Energy's entire solar and wind portfolio. “He currently oversees organization building as well as all strategic and financial matters of Adani Green Energy,” according to the company's official website. 

According to multiple media reports, Sagar Adani was served a search warrant in March 2023 by FBI special agents over seeking evidence linked to payments of bribes and kickbacks to Indian government officials, along with a grand jury subpoena. The search warrant identified offences, individuals and entities under investigation by the US government, as per the report.

The FBI special agents took custody of electronic devices in his possession at that time, as per the media reports. 

What was Adani Group's response?

Adani Group denied the allegations charged by the US Department of Justice and the SEC, calling them baseless.

“The allegations made by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of Adani Green are baseless and denied,” said an Adani spokesperson on Thursday, November 21.

The company reiterated citing the official release, that the claims are allegations and Adani Group is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. “The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.”