Thursday, November 21, 2024 – The controversial Adani deal to take over Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and other agreements has taken a new turn after the Adani Group was indicted in the U.S. for bribery and corruption.
This comes a week after
President William Ruto’s government, through Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis
Chirchir, defended the Adani Group before Parliament and stated it was not
involved in any corruption activities.
“Adani has not been barred by
any country, has no history of corruption based on our due diligence, is
solvent, and is tax compliant in all jurisdictions where it operates,"
Chirchir told Parliament on Thursday last week.
"Its directors have not
faced criminal convictions related to professional conduct within the last five
years and have not been disqualified due to any administrative suspension or
debarment proceedings,” he added.
Gautam Adani was charged
yesterday in the U.S. in a $250 million (about Ksh32 billion in the current
exchange rates) bribery scheme.
He, along with seven other executives from the multibillion-dollar Indian company, was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in New York for bribing Indian government officials.
According to the indictment, the
Adani Group has for years bribed officials to lie to U.S. investors and acquire
green energy supply contracts for the group’s Adani Green subsidiary.
The bribes were to facilitate
the officials' lying to investors and banks to raise billions of dollars and to
obstruct justice.
Adani and the other defendants
are said to have met with the government officials several
times during this period to advance the scheme.
It now remains to be seen if
Ruto will still go through with the Adani deals in light of the recent
development.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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