How Sagar Adani’s ‘bribe notes’ unravelled $250 million scheme

A sprawling bribery and securities fraud scandal has ensnared Gautam Adani, one of India’s richest men, and his family. The allegations, levelled by US authorities, detail a scheme involving hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes paid to Indian officials to secure lucrative power deals.
At the heart of the scandal is Sagar Adani, the 30-year-old nephew of the billionaire tycoon. Court filings accessed by news agency Reuters reveal that Sagar meticulously documented the bribes on his mobile phone, including the amount offered, the megawatts of power purchased in return, and even a per-megawatt bribe rate, often in cryptic WhatsApp messages.
US prosecutors have dubbed these records as “bribe notes”.
Born into one of India’s wealthiest families and educated at the prestigious Brown University, an Ivy League school, Sagar Adani seemed poised to embody the next chapter of the Adani Group’s meteoric rise.
After joining the Adani Group in 2015, Sagar quickly climbed the ranks, overseeing strategic and financial matters for Adani Green Energy. Praised for his acumen in renewable energy, he often spoke of embracing risk.
At 30, the scion of Gautam Adani’s sprawling ports-to-energy empire was celebrated for spearheading the conglomerate’s renewable energy initiatives, crafting a portfolio that positioned Adani Green as a global leader.
But now, his name is indelibly tied to the bribery and fraud scandal that has rocked the group and raised questions about his role behind the scenes.
The court filings depict Sagar not only as a facilitator but also as a strategist, deeply involved in orchestrating and recouping payments. He worked closely with Gautam Adani, attending meetings with power companies and discussing bribes with senior executives.
In one WhatsApp message from February 2021, Sagar discussed doubling incentives to secure approvals for potential power deals in Jammu and Kashmir and Chhattisgarh. Another message, from July 2021, detailed a bribe offer to Odisha officials for a 500-megawatt power deal.
Another alleged transaction involved offering $200 million to Andhra Pradesh officials, including the chief minister, for a 7,000 megawatt deal.
A WhatsApp message from Sagar in 2020 revealed his awareness of the precarious nature of the scheme: “Yup…but the optics are very difficult to cover.”
That cover was irreparably blown this week as charges were brought against him in New York.
Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and other executives have been indicted on multiple counts, including conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud, substantive securities fraud, and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA).
The indictment alleges a scheme to pay over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts, which were projected to generate more than $2 billion in profits over 20 years.
While Adani Group has dismissed the allegations as “baseless,” the scandal’s impact has been swift. Billions in market value were wiped from the group’s stocks, and Kenya cancelled a major airport project.