Indian billionaire Adani, 3 former executives of Canadian pension fund charged in fraud scheme
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, one of Asia’s richest men, may be facing his biggest challenge yet with an indictment by U.S. prosecutors for alleged fraud and bribery. But it’s unclear just how the case will affect his businesses and own future — as well as the Indian economy and government.
On Friday, shares in some of the Adani Group’s companies began ticking back up after plunging a day earlier following the announcement of the charges in New York. The stock prices of six of his 10 listed companies rose slightly, between one per cent to nearly four per cent.
Adani, a major power player in India perceived as close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was charged Wednesday with securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud at a court in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The test for the tycoon and his multibillion-dollar empire, which encompasses everything from energy and ports to media and agriculture, comes just after the 62-year-old founder and his holdings had bounced back after losing more than $60 billion in market value in early 2023 following allegations of stock price manipulation and fraud by the short-selling firm Hindenburg Research.
It also raises questions about corporate governance and crony capitalism in India’s economy, which Modi has vowed to make the world’s third-largest, and intensified scrutiny on the outsized influence of large, family-run conglomerates. Asia’s richest man is another Indian billionaire, Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries.
Prosecutors allege that Adani duped investors in a massive solar project in India by concealing that it was being facilitated by bribes. Seven other executives connected to Adani’s massive business holdings also face charges, including three former executives from Quebec’s largest pension fund, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ).
The indictment outlines an alleged scheme to pay about $265 million in bribes to government officials in India.
Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal and Deepak Malhotra, who all held high-ranking positions at CDPQ, are reportedly accused of obstructing a grand jury, the FBI, and the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission.
“CDPQ is aware of charges filed in the U.S. against certain former employees,” a spokesperson told CBC News. “Those employees were all terminated in 2023 and CDPQ is co-operating with U.S. authorities. In light of the pending cases, we have no further comment at this time.”
Group denies allegations against green energy arm
The Adani group denied the allegations against directors of Adani Green Energy, its renewable energy arm, as “baseless” and said they will be seeking legal recourse. Shares in Adani’s green energy venture, which is at the centre of the case, dropped eight per cent on Friday.
None of the people charged in the case have been arrested.
“For Adani, this hits hard, no matter how you slice it,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center.
“His public relations machine was in overdrive for nearly two years rehabilitating his image following the Hindenburg allegations. This indictment came like a bolt from the blue and instantly reversed all recent progress in salvaging his reputation and business empire,” Kugelman said.
Adani’s imprint across the Indian economy runs deep. He is the country’s largest operator of coal mines and infrastructure developer, operates several ports and airports, and employs tens of thousands of people. Despite his fossil fuel roots, Adani has ambitions to become the world’s largest player in renewable energy by 2030.
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani saw his net worth rapidly plummet after accusations of fraud triggered a steep drop in stock prices for his group of companies, Adani Group. Now, protestors and opposition parties are calling for an investigation.
Analysts say a key factor in his meteoric rise over the years has been his knack for aligning his group’s priorities with those of the Modi government, investing in key industries like renewable energy, defence and agriculture. Before Modi, Adani was friendly with other parties in power.
The latest controversy is likely to put Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, seen as close to Adani, in an awkward spot.
Amit Malviya, the BJP’s IT head, said in a post on X that the U.S. charges are “allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty,” which critics interpreted as a show of support for the Adani group.
The main opposition party has seized on the controversy, demanding Adani’s arrest and accusing Modi, who has at times campaigned using an Adani jet, of protecting him. Opposition lawmakers are likely to escalate pressure on Modi when the winter session of parliament begins next week.
The controversy has already affected Adani’s interests overseas.
Kenya’s president cancelled multimillion-dollar deals with the Adani group for airport modernization and energy projects. Adani is likely to also face scrutiny in Bangladesh, where a court on Tuesday ordered an inquiry into an energy project.
His troubles might complicate India’s ties with other countries, such as Sri Lanka, where New Delhi is competing with rival Beijing for strategically important markets.
There’s no doubt this is “bad timing for New Delhi,” said Kugelman, as it comes at a moment “when it’s trying to capitalize on the business world’s desire to move production out of China and find alternate investment destinations.”
Could Trump intervene?
As for India-U.S. ties, some analysts believe president-elect Donald Trump may intervene.
“India would like nothing more than for Trump to halt the investigation once he takes office. That’s unlikely. Trump, however, could take a positive view of Adani, a fellow businessman who has praised Trump effusively,” said Kugelman.
The case highlights business risks in India, though experts believe the impact on investors will be limited mainly to the Adani group.
“There are no fears of a financial contagion — at this point, the effect is centred on the group rather than the market. It could slow down the group’s expansion and growth as it will become more difficult for Adani to raise funds,” said Ambareesh Baliga, an independent market analyst.
Still, for many in India, the news isn’t that startling.
Investors already know “just how ingrained this (bribes and corruption) is in the fabric of the Indian economy — you can’t miss it,” Baliga said. “Initially, investors may stay away for a while but at the end of the day, they will come back (to Adani). This isn’t some small or medium-sized group they can ignore.”
Published at Fri, 22 Nov 2024 18:27:10 +0000
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs arrives in court seeking $50M US bail
Sean “Diddy” Combs arrived in court on Friday for a hearing over his bid to be released on $50-million US bail from the Brooklyn jail where the music mogul has been held for 10 weeks, ahead of his May 5, 2025 trial on sex-trafficking charges.
Combs, wearing a beige jail-issued outfit, blew kisses at his family, seated in the second row of the audience of U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian’s federal courtroom in Manhattan.
Combs has been denied bail three times since his arrest, with multiple judges citing a risk he might tamper with witnesses. The rapper and producer pleaded not guilty on Sept. 17 to charges that he used his business empire, including his record label Bad Boy Entertainment, to sexually abuse people.
Prosecutors said the abuse included having women take part in recorded sexual performances he called “freak-offs” with male sex workers who were sometimes transported across state lines.
Combs, 55, has denied wrongdoing, and his lawyers have argued the sexual activity described by prosecutors was consensual.
The proposed bail package was backed by Combs’s $48-million US Florida mansion. It also called for Combs to be monitored around the clock by security personnel, subjected to home detention and to have no contact with alleged victims or witnesses.
Combs’ lawyers questioned why jail was needed when federal prosecutors in Brooklyn last month allowed the pre-trial release on a $10-million US bond of former Abercrombie and Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, who has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking.
‘No legal basis’ to keep Combs in jail: defence
“There is no legal basis for continuing to force Mr. Combs to prepare for trial from jail,” his lawyers wrote in a Thursday court filing.
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan, which brought the charges against Combs, countered that Jeffries is 80 years old with no criminal history, whereas Combs has had prior arrests.
They also said federal agents recovered rifles with defaced serial numbers from Combs’s residences, and that Combs contacted witnesses through third parties from jail and tried to hide those communications from law enforcement.
“It strains credulity to believe that Combs will stop engaging in criminal conduct and abide by conditions of release,” prosecutors wrote in a Friday court filing.
Defence lawyers, meanwhile, said new evidence shed light on a 2016 hotel surveillance video of Combs assaulting former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, the singer known as Cassie, and undermined part of the prosecution’s justification for detaining him.
His lawyers said the video was not proof of a coerced “freak-off” as prosecutors alleged, but rather a glimpse into a complex romantic relationship.
This week, Subramanian ordered prosecutors to destroy their copies of handwritten notes that Combs took in jail, pending a decision on whether they were subject to attorney-client privilege.
A government investigator photographed the notes during a sweep of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where Combs has been jailed.
Published at Fri, 22 Nov 2024 19:48:03 +0000