Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani have agreed to pay civil penalties of $6 million and $12 million, respectively, to settle charges brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over alleged misleading disclosures linked to a 2021 bond offering by Adani Green Energy.
In a litigation release issued on Thursday, the SEC said it had moved for entry of final judgments by consent against the two executives in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The proposed settlements are subject to court approval.
Without admitting or denying the allegations, Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani consented to permanent injunctions barring them from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5.
The SEC’s complaint, originally filed in November 2024, alleged that the two executives orchestrated a scheme involving promises to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to Indian government officials in exchange for commitments to purchase energy at above-market rates, benefiting Adani Green.
According to the SEC, the alleged bribery scheme was ongoing when Adani Green launched a $750 million bond offering in September 2021 that raised more than $175 million from U.S. investors.
The regulator alleged that offering documents issued during the bond sale falsely portrayed Adani Green as compliant with anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws and principles, making the disclosures materially misleading in light of the alleged conduct.
The SEC said the proposed final judgments would permanently restrain both executives from future violations of U.S. securities laws tied to fraud and misleading statements.
The investigation was conducted by officials from the SEC’s New York Regional Office, while the litigation team included SEC attorneys Christopher Colorado, Nicholas Karasimas and Stewart Gilson under the supervision of senior enforcement officials