The US Securities and Exchange Commission (USSEC) has accused the Adani Group of bribing former Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and other officials. According to the USSEC, the Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) signed by Andhra Pradesh's electricity distribution companies are part of a $265 million bribery case.
The USSEC has alleged that power distribution companies in states like Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh entered into PSAs with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) between July 2021 and February 2022. Andhra Pradesh agreed to procure 7 gigawatts of solar power, marking the largest commitment by any state in India.
The SEC stated, "In August 2021, Gautam Adani met with the chief minister of AP, about the fact that the state had not entered into a Power Supply Agreement (PSA) with SECI and the 'incentives' needed to cause Andhra Pradesh to do so."
The SEC further alleged, "Sagar Adani had a subsequent meeting with the chief minister on September 12, 2021. Post these meetings, the Adanis (Gautam and Sagar) paid or promised a bribe to AP government officials to cause the relevant Andhra Pradesh government entities to enter into PSAs with SECI for the purchase of 7,000 MW of power capacity."
"Adani Green's records and later statements by Adani Green executives to the Azure Chairman indicated that the AP bribe payment was approximately $200 million (₹1,750 crore). Shortly after these meetings, Andhra Pradesh agreed in principle to execute a PSA with SECI that would directly benefit Adani Green and Azure," it added.