Were Officials In Odisha Bribed By Adani Group For Solar Power Deal?

Bhubaneswar: Odisha is among the four states and one Union Territory that are in focus following the US indictment of Gautam Adani and seven others for allegedly paying bribes to Indian government officials for securing solar power contracts.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (USSEC) has alleged that the power distribution companies in Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh entered into power sale agreements (PSAs) with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) under manufacturing project between July 2021 and February 2022.

The prosecutors in the United States further claimed that Adani Group offered Rs 2,029 crore ($265 million) in bribes. A large chunk of the bribes was directed at officials in Andhra Pradesh, to secure contracts with state electricity distribution companies between 2021-2023, the prosecutors claimed as reported by India Today.

What is the case?
The controversy is regarding a contract secured by Adani Green Energy and another renewable-energy company, Azure Power, to provide 12 gigawatts of solar power to the government-owned Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). But the SECI struggled to find customers because of the “high energy prices contemplated” after bidding concluded for the 2019 tender, reports claimed.

It had been alleged that the Adani Group and its associates used bribes to help convince certain states to use their solar energy. The prosecutors claimed that this fact was hidden from the US banks and the investors. The group had raised billions for the solar energy project from the US banks and the investors.

Sagar R Adani used his phone to track the bribe notes that identified the per megawatt rate of bribe given to government officials, US SEC said in the indictment.

What did the prosecutors say?
According to the indictment, the Adani Group allegedly promised Indian officials about $265 million as bribes. The bribes included $228 million to a single unnamed official, named “Foreign Official #1”, who secured a deal for electricity providers in Andhra Pradesh to purchase 7 gigawatts of solar energy, reported the India Today.

The indictment claimed Adani personally interacted with “Foreign Official #1” in Andhra Pradesh on multiple occasions in 2021 to advance the agreements. Adani reportedly met the said official on August 7, September 12 and November 20 in 2021.
It was then that the Andhra power distribution companies entered into a PSA with SECI, agreeing to purchase 7 GW of solar power, the indictment claimed. It was reportedly the largest amount procured by any state. Between July 2021 and February 2022, other states—Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu— also decided to sign up for the solar power, the India Today reported.

Meanwhile, the BJP said the states that allegedly received bribes from the Adani Group for solar power deals, as mentioned in the US indictment, were ruled by the Opposition.

Meanwhile in Odisha…

In 2021, Adani Renewable Energy (MH) Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), had acquired 40 MW operating solar project of Essel Green Energy Pvt Ltd in Odisha. “The project has a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for Rs 4.235 per unit, with remaining PPA life of about 22 years,” the company had then said in a statement.

The acquisition of the project was at an enterprise valuation of Rs 219 crore.