Andhra Pradesh is likely to suspend a power purchase deal linked to Adani Group due to the US indictment of the group’s founder, Gautam Adani over an alleged bribery scheme, two State government sources said.
The State will ask the Union government and the Solar Energy Corporation of India, which awards power supply contracts to companies like Adani, to investigate the charges, added the sources.
The suspension, likely to be announced soon, would be the first such action by a State government after US prosecutors charged Gautam Adani and seven others with agreeing to pay bribes of $265 million to unidentified Indian government officials to obtain solar power-supply contracts.
Most of the alleged bribes – $228 million – were paid to a government official to get Andhra Pradesh’s State electricity distribution companies to agree to purchase power, the US indictment said. Adani has said the allegations are baseless.
The power supply to Andhra Pradesh under the agreement was scheduled to start from next year, according to one of the sources.
“The decision will be taken very soon,” the second source said about the planned suspension.
Adani Group and the Andhra Pradesh government did not immediately reply to Reuters requests for comment.
Reuters reported earlier on Tuesday that Andhra Pradesh was exploring the possibility of cancelling a power supply contract linked to Adani Group. The State’s ’s previous ruling party – YSR Congress Party – under whose administration the alleged misconduct took place, last week denied any wrongdoing.