Gautam and Sagar Adani were reportedly aware of a US investigation into suspected bribery involving their renewable energy company when they sold part of India’s largest solar park to France’s TotalEnergies. This information comes from legal documents reviewed by Reuters.
TotalEnergies Response Pending
As of Friday, TotalEnergies has not commented on whether it knew about the US investigation into the Adanis when purchasing a stake in the Khavda solar park. The allegations include bribery and fraud.
US Charges Filed
On Thursday, US prosecutors charged eight individuals, including Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and the former CEO of Adani Green Energy Limited. They are accused of making improper payments to Indian officials between July 2021 and 2024 to secure the success of the Khavda solar project.
Solar Park Stake Sale Details
In September 2024, TotalEnergies invested $444 million for a 50% stake in solar installations at the Khavda solar park. This joint venture with Adani Green Energy is now linked to the bribery allegations. TotalEnergies itself is not named in the criminal case.
Adani Group Denies Allegations
The Adani Group dismissed the claims as baseless and has not yet responded to requests for comments on the matter.
Timeline of Events
The US indictment reveals that FBI agents served Sagar Adani with a search warrant and grand jury subpoena in March 2023, over a year before TotalEnergies bought the solar park stake.
The investigation named Adani Green Energy, its former CEO Vneet Jaain, and chairman Gautam Adani for allegedly bribing officials to gain business advantages.
Previous Investments by TotalEnergies
In January 2021, TotalEnergies bought a 20% stake in Adani Green Energy after the Indian company secured the world’s largest solar order. This purchase occurred just months before the alleged bribes began.
Sangkaran Ratnam, TotalEnergies’ India chair and nominee to Adani Green Energy’s board, did not respond to questions about his knowledge of the investigation when the stake in Khavda was acquired.
