Who is Gautam Adani, the Indian billionaire charged in the US over bribery plot?
Gautam Adani is widely regarded as one of the most powerful men in India, as well as one of the wealthiest,Born in the western state of Gujarat, one of eight children whose father was a low level textile trader, Adani is seen as a self-made industrialist,At its peak in 2022, Adani’s personal net worth touched $127bn (£100bn),His first venture into business was trading in the diamond industry in Mumbai, where he made hist first million rupees,In the 1980s, he returned to Gujarat to help with his brother’s plastic business and gradually widened to importing metals, agricultural materials and textiles.
By the 1990s, Adani had acquired control of a lucrative port in Gujarat, laying the groundwork for his conglomerate, the Adani Group, to become India’s largest private operator of ports,His empire then expanded into energy, building coal-fired power stations, importing foreign coal and opening coalmines in India,His network of coal-fired power stations grew to such a scale he became India’s largest private producer of thermal power,The relationship between Adani and Narendra Modi, who has been India’s prime minister since 2014, began in the early 2000s in Gujarat,Modi was then the chief minister of Gujarat and his close links with big industrialists such as Adani helped him reinvent himself as the pro-business face of modern economic progress.
In return, Adani was granted concessions that allowed his wealth and stature to grow exponentially,When Modi was first elected prime minister, he flew back to Delhi on Adani’s private plane,Adani then regularly accompanied Modi on international trips, after which his empire was often able to strike lucrative business deals in those countries,Within India, Adani’s empire grew to a colossal size, encompassing not just coal power and ports, but also airports, cement, apples, edible oils, grains, data storage and a television news channel,Much of this expansion and growing monopoly of the Adani Group was made possible by contracts given by the Modi government, or state governments run by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party.
It resulted in allegations of favouritism and “crony capitalism” from political opponents of Modi, while journalists who tried to investigate the Adani Group found themselves harassed and charged.The Adani Group has denied all allegations of favouritism and political patronage.While allegations of illegal activity have dogged the Adani Group for more than a decade, the relationship between Modi and Adani has come under increasing scrutiny as claims of corruption and stock market manipulation by the group have emerged in the past couple of years.In January 2023, a report by US financial firm Hindenburg accused the Adani Group of pulling off the “largest corporate con in history” through stock manipulation, eye-watering levels of debt and secret offshore accounts.The Adani Group dismissed the allegations as baseless.
Later that year, an investigation by the Guardian and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project published evidence that the Adani Group had used secret offshore funds to buy their own shares.At the time, a spokesperson for the Adani Group claimed the investigation was intended to “wilfully to defame, disparage, erode value of and cause loss” to it.“All the Adani Group’s publicly listed entities are in compliance with all applicable laws,” they said.The Indian government’s own financial investigation agencies have been accused by critics of failing to properly investigate Adani and his conglomerate.On Thursday, the US indictment directly accused Adani and his executives of agreeing to pay hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of bribes to Indian government officials between 2020 and 2024, charges they deny.
Rahul Gandhi, the most prominent leader of India’s political opposition, called for Adani’s immediate arrest.“I am wondering why Mr Adani is still running around a free man in this country?” he said.
Revealed: McKinsey clients had ‘rising share of global emissions’, internal analysis shows
Consulting giant had said it engages with clients to help them transition to cleaner energy even as it knew they were in line to exceed climate targetsThe world’s biggest consulting firm found that its clients were on a trajectory to bust global climate targets, details of internal forecasting in 2021 uncovered by the Centre for Climate Reporting (CCR) and the Guardian reveal.McKinsey & Company has worked with some of the world’s biggest emitters, including many of the largest fossil fuel producers. It has previously argued it is necessary to engage these clients to help them transition to cleaner forms of energy and hit the target of limiting global warming to less than 1.5C above preindustrial levels.But the CCR and the Guardian have learned of an internal analysis of client emissions carried out by McKinsey in 2021 which showed that the companies the firm works with were set to exceed this target
British mining executives held in Mali freed after $160m deal to settle tax dispute
Three British mining executives who had been detained by the government of Mali have been released and are “safe and well”, days after agreeing to pay $160m to settle a tax dispute.Resolute Mining, an Australian company, said on Thursday its chief executive, Terence Holohan, and two other employees, who had been held in the country since 9 November, have been freed.The three executives were in Mali’s capital, Bamako, to hold discussions with mining and tax authorities.They were detained at the end of a meeting with government officials, held to discuss tax and other state claims that the miner had previously said were “unsubstantiated”. The miner agreed to pay $160m to the Mali government this week to help resolve the tax dispute
Water companies blocked from paying bonuses out of customer money
Investors at Thames Water, Yorkshire Water, and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water will be forced to pick up the tab for executive bonuses after the regulator determined that the sector had awarded “undeserved” extra payments, worth £6.8m.Ofwat said on Thursday it had used new powers to ensure that bonuses at the three companies were paid by shareholders and bondholders – rather than through customer bills – because the payments had not “adequately reflected overall company performance issues”.Water companies have faced public anger and political backlash in recent years over leaks and sewage overflows as they have also come under increasing financial strain.Nine water companies will not be allowed to use customer funds to pay bonuses worth £6
Billionaire Gautam Adani charged in US over alleged $250m bribery plot
Gautam Adani, one of the world’s richest men, has been indicted in New York over an alleged multibillion-dollar scheme to pay $250m in bribes and conceal it from US investors.Prosecutors charged the chair of the Indian conglomerate Adani Group and two other executives of a renewable energy company with securities fraud and conspiring to commit securities and wire fraud.The US attorney’s office in Brooklyn accused the executives of agreeing to pay hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of bribes to Indian government officials between 2020 and 2024, in an attempt to obtain solar energy supply contracts expected to make $2bn in profits over 20 years.Separately, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the US’s top markets watchdog, charged Adani, 62, and two other executives over conduct it said had arisen out of a “massive bribery scheme” that involved $175m from US investors.Arrest warrants have been issued in the US for Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani
FCA plans to allow lenders longer to respond to car finance complaints
The City regulator plans to intervene in the car loan mis-selling scandal, in a move that could give lenders up to a year to respond to the rising number of customer complaints after a shock court ruling.The Financial Conduct Authority has been under pressure to take action after a court of appeal ruling in October said it was unlawful for two lenders to have paid a “secret” commission to car dealers without borrowers’ knowledge.Lenders complained that the ruling went beyond FCA regulation – as well the watchdog’s ongoing investigation into a much more narrow commission issue – and had created a large amount of uncertainty about potential payouts to customers who could seek compensation as a result.Some lenders have been flooded with complaints, including from claims management companies and claims law firms, as consumers look to see whether they could be in line for a slice of a compensation bill that the rating agency Moody’s suggests could balloon to £30bn.The FCA is proposing to ease the pressure by scrapping an eight-week deadline for lenders to respond to customer complaints
UK government borrowing in October tops forecasts at £17.4bn
The UK government borrowed more than expected in October as debt interest payments pushed the public finances deeper into the red, piling pressure on Rachel Reeves as she attempts to grow the economy.Borrowing rose to £17.4bn last month, the second highest October figure since monthly records began in 1993 and despite a rise in inheritance tax receipts.City economists had expected a smaller figure, of about £12.3bn for October, after the UK borrowed more than £16bn in September
John Prescott, British former deputy prime minister, dies aged 86
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Defence secretary announces scrapping of £500m of vessels and drones to cut costs
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Tories say Labour is weakening national security with plan to decommission drones, warships and helicopters – as it happened