US prosecutors charge billionaire Gautam Adani over bribery 'conspiracy'

Indian magnate Gautam Adani, one of the world's richest men and a strong backer of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was charged by US prosecutors on Wednesday for allegedly paying over $250 million in bribes to Indian officials.

Billionaire Indian industrialist Gautam Adani has been charged with paying hundreds of millions of dollars of bribes and hiding the payments from investors, US prosecutors said on Wednesday.

With a business empire spanning coal, airports, cement and media, the chairman of Adani Group has been rocked in recent years by corporate fraud allegations and a stock crash.

The close acolyte of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a fellow Gujarat native, is alleged to have agreed to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian officials for lucrative solar energy supply contracts.

The deals were projected to generate more than $2 billion in profits after tax, over roughly 20 years.

None of the multiple defendants in the case, including Adani, are in custody, the prosecutor's office told AFP.

Prosecutors say one of Adani's alleged accomplices meticulously tracked bribe payments, using his phone to log the bungs offered to officials.

A self-described introvert, Adani keeps a low profile and rarely speaks to the media, often sending lieutenants to front corporate events.

(AFP)