Trump Won More of New York’s Votes. Did He Win More of Its Love, Too?” from Business Elevatus (published on November 23, 2024)

Andhra Pradesh is reviewing government files and will explore if it is possible to cancel a power supply contract linked to the Adani Group, whose billionaire founder has been indicted in the United States, a top official told Reuters.

U.S. authorities have charged Gautam Adani and seven others with agreeing to pay bribes of $265 million to unnamed Indian government officials to obtain solar power-supply contracts in Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, between 2021 and 2022.

Most of the alleged bribes – $228 million – were paid to a government official to get Andhra Pradesh’s state electricity distribution companies to agree to purchase power, stated the U.S. indictment. Adani has said the allegations are baseless.

Andhra Pradesh’s government was “digging into all the internal files” from the previous administration, under which the alleged misconduct took place, state Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav told Reuters on Monday.

“We will also examine what can be done next, like is there a possibility to cancel the contract … state government is looking into this issue closely,” Keshav said.

A spokesperson for the Adani Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

The previous Andhra Pradesh ruling party, YSR Congress Party, last week denied any wrongdoing.

The U.S. charges are the biggest setback for billionaire Adani, whose company shares and bonds have fallen sharply since the indictment.