US prosecutors file bribery charges against Adani

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Aakriti Anand, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

US prosecutors file bribery charges against Adani

The Justice Department has accused Gautam Adani of paying Indian government officials $250 million in bribes to land solar-energy supply contracts. Buried in the details: Of this total, $228 million was promised “to a single unnamed official, who secured a deal for electricity providers in the state of Andhra Pradesh to purchase seven gigawatts of solar energy.” FYI: These contracts are expected to result in $2 billion in profits.

What’s notable: The 54-page indictment specifically names Adani, his nephew Sagar, and six other executives. And it claims that Adani personally met with these officials.

Where the US comes in: Gautam and Sagar Adani are charged with securities fraud and two counts of fraud conspiracies—for misrepresenting their business practices to US investors:

Adani Green Energy then tried to raise money from U.S. and international investors with a 2021 bond offering on the basis of false and misleading statements about the firm’s anti-corruption and anti-bribery efforts, according to the indictment.

The Securities and Exchange Commission—the US stock market regulator—has filed a separate civil case claiming Adani Green Energy raised more than $175 million from US investors.

The really important bit that you need to know is this:

According to the indictment, the defendants kept track of their bribes and offers to Indian officials using messaging apps, phones and PowerPoint presentations, sometimes using “code names” in their communications. Several of the defendants referred to Gautam Adani as “SAG,” “Mr. A,” “Numero uno” and “the big man,” the indictment said. Mr. Jain was called “V,” “snake” and “Numero uno minus one.”

Irony alert: Adani has been under pressure from Hindenburg for cooking his numbers. But in this case, his nephew showed a remarkable commitment to bookkeeping:

Prosecutors said Sagar Adani, Mr. Adani’s nephew, used his cellphone to track details on the bribes offered and promised to officials. For every official, Sagar Adani identified their state or region, how much they were offered and the amount of solar power their region would purchase in exchange for the kickback.

We recommend reading details of the fraud over at the New York Times (splainer gift link) or Reuters via The Telegraph.

Speaking of shady doings: According to Canadian security officials, PM Modi was personally aware of plans to assassinate Hardeep Singh Nijjar—and other prominent Khalistanis in the US and Canada:

The official said Canadian and American intelligence tied the assassination operations to Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah. Also in the loop, the official said, was Mr. Modi’s trusted national-security adviser Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

Point to note: There is no “direct evidence” of Modi’s involvement. Of course, New Delhi has strongly denied all of the above. The Globe & Mail report is paywalled, but The Telegraph has curated the details.

Grim news about plastic ‘greenwashing’

The context: Back in 2019, some of the big producers of plastic—including ExxonMobil, Dow, Shell, TotalEnergies, and ChevronPhillips—set up the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW). They promised to recycle 15 million tonnes of plastic waste in five years.

What happened now: A Greenpeace investigation shows that the alliance was mostly a PR exercise. The 15 million target was junked as “too ambitious.” Worse, the amount of plastic it did, in fact, divert from the environment was meaningless:

The data reveals the five companies alone produced 132 million tonnes of two types of plastic; polyethylene (PE) and PP (polypropylene) in five years — more than 1,000 times the weight of the 118,500 tonnes of waste plastic the alliance has removed from the environment in the same period.

To put it differently: they “produce more plastic in two days than the Alliance’s projects have cleaned up over the past five years.”

Also this: The documents uncovered by Greenpeace show that the alliance itself is a PR tactic—set up to divert the pressure for a plastic ban:

The brief was to “create a campaign to change the conversation — away from short-term simplistic bans of plastic to real, long-term solutions for managing plastic waste.”

Why this matters: Right now, the alliance is fiercely lobbying delegates at a critical summit to finalise a global plastic treaty—which would make certain kinds of pollution illegal. Greenpeace has the best summary of its findings. The Guardian offers an overview of the report.

Moving on to land mines: The Biden White House has approved the supply of land mines to Ukraine—to target Russian troops advancing into its territory. Why the decision is controversial: Land mines result in severe civilian casualties—continuing to claim lives decades after they are placed. There are 110 million land mines in 70 countries right now. Data point to note: in 2022, landmines killed over 1,600 and injured 3,000—85% of these casualties were civilians.

Washington’s defence: Its mines don’t last that long:

The so-called nonpersistent mines are electrically fused and powered by batteries. Once the battery runs out, they won’t detonate, and they can become inert in anywhere from four hours to two weeks.

Associated Press has lots more on the mines—and why the move to supply them is a big deal.

Guess what’s in your Lindt chocolate bar?

The context: In 2022, a Consumer Reports study found that Lindt chocolate bars contained high levels of lead and cadmium. As a result, consumers filed a class action lawsuit against the company in 2023—because they paid “premium prices” for Lindt because they believed they were “purchasing quality and safe dark chocolate.” FYI: The Lindt tagline is: “expertly crafted with the finest ingredients”.

What happened now: During recent court proceedings, Lindt actually admitted to lying—in order to get the case dismissed (?!):

[I]n an effort to get the case dismissed, Lindt's lawyers put their foot in their mouths when they explained that the words "excellence" and "expertly crafted with the finest ingredients" that are printed on each label were unactionable "puffery," which it defined as "exaggerated advertising, blustering, and boasting upon which no reasonable buyer would rely."

Lindt now claims the bit about “puffery” is a “technical” legal response, not an admission of a lesser product. (AFP via Barron’s)

Big moves around 5G

The context: Reliance Jio emerged as the biggest winner in the 5G auctions back in 2022. Airtel was a distant second—while Vodafone’s bid was almost irrelevant. Surprisingly, Gautam Adani made a successful but modest bid for spectrum to set up private networks for its businesses. In essence, everyone expected Mukesh-bhai to ‘own’ 5G India—and decimate his rivals. This Big Story explains everything you need to know about 5G, spectrum and auctions—and the Indian 5G market.

What happened now: Airtel and Vodafone have shown unexpected signs of renewed life. Nokia has inked a ‘multi-year, multi-billion-dollar” deal to supply 4G and 5G equipment across multiple cities with Airtel. Vodafone aka Vi also recently signed a $3.6 billion deal for network equipment from Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung. It remains to be seen if this will save either company from their crippling debt. (Indian Express)

PS: Gautam-bhai is planning to surrender his 5G spectrum—bought for Rs 2.12 billion (212 crore). The reason: He hasn’t done eff all with them for two years. (Mint)

The epic fail of Jaguar’s rebrand

Bechare Tatas are struggling with branding around the world—be it Air India or Jaguar. Their fancy Brit acquisition—bought in 2008—has “completely reset” its image. The reason: It’s become a fully electric brand—with a spanking new logo. Which brings us to the first mystery: where's the actual jaguar?

The other pressing question—sparked by this promo vid—where is the goddamn car?

The Verge has more on the controversial rebrand. Also: Fast Company has more on the broader luxury pivot toward EVs.

What caught our eye

business & tech

Google’s Gemini chatbot now has a ‘memory’ feature that stores info about your life, work, and personal preferences.
Also brand new: a teacher’s guide to ChatGPT—which has been greeted with great scepticism by educators.
Zomato CEO put out a job ad for a chief of staff. No experience required. The bad news: you have to pay Rs 20 lakh (2 million) for the privilege of working for him.
Don’t worry: this guy is ready to pick up the bill. But he wants 10% of your lifetime earnings.

sports & entertainment

Aryan Khan will direct an entire Netflix series produced by…his mummy/papa’s company—Red Chillies Entertainment. While other nepo-babies can at best hope to land a movie role.
India are Asian hockey champions again! Our women’s team downed China 1-0 to retain the title.

as for the rest

The world is at war both over land and underwater. Europeans suspect the Chinese of sabotaging undersea fibre optic cables.
No, nothing has changed in Washington. The US once again was the only nation to veto a Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The RSS has intensified its push to rechristen Hyderabad as…Bhagyanagar.
A new study found a “marked decrease in inflammatory markers and white blood cells” when you…visit a haunted house!!!
Celebrities help make ‘manifest’ the Cambridge Dictionary’s Word of the Year.
Milan’s Via Monte Napoleone is now the world’s most expensive shopping street, driven by surging luxury demand, affluent tourism, and fierce real estate competition.
And the best pizza of the year goes to… Pizza Hut Bahrain, which won the 2024 Global Championship for pizza-making excellence and innovation.
The US has raised the alarm over the depleting number of giraffes—which have decreased by 30% since the 1980s.
Maharashtra Assembly Elections recorded a 65.02% voter turnout, up from 61.6% in 2019, with polling largely peaceful despite minor skirmishes in Beed.
Amid Delhi's hazardous AQI of 526, the government mandated 50% staff in offices to work from home and introduced staggered timings to combat pollution.
New York Times (login required) has a must-read on how just like Delhi, Lahore is grappling with the hazardous effects of smog.
Wall Street Journal (splainer gift link) has a good read about why beans have overtaken kale as the new nutrition obsession.

Five things to see

One: Policemen in Uttar Pradesh threatened Muslim voters with guns and batons—to prevent them from casting their votes in the ongoing by-elections. FYI: Five of them have been suspended. Indian Express has that story.

Two: Nike paid a larger-than-life tribute to Rafael Nadal with a 10-metre high animated billboard near the Eiffel Tower. (India Today)

Three: A 300-carat diamond necklace from the 18th century sold for a hefty $4.8 million. The desi connect: diamonds reportedly came from the Golconda mines. It’s perfect red carpet material. Smithsonian Magazine has more on the Marie Antoinette angle.

Four: Minecraft fans, rejoice! The game will appear in four theme parks in the US and UK. The Minecraft attractions will cost a whopping $110 million, and will either be part of an existing theme park, or standalone attractions—which could look like this. (The Guardian)

Five: Buckle up! The beloved ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ franchise will soon include a live-action instalment. The film is slated for a release on June 13, 2025.