Long unknown to the general public outside India’s borders, Gautam Adani, 62, the man at the head of the world’s largest conglomerate, is once again in the spotlight. After being accused, in 2023, of the most “The biggest scam in business history” by the Hindenburg investment company, the Indian industrialist, a close friend of the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is now in the crosshairs of American justice.
The tycoon was accused on Wednesday, November 20, by a federal court in New York of fraud and corruption, suspected of having paid more than 250 million dollars (238 million euros) in bribes to Indian officials to obtain juicy public contracts in solar energy. . The group rejected the accusations, saying they were “unfounded”, and promised to challenge them in court. The opposition demands “immediate arrest” of the billionaire and accuses Mr. Modi of ” protect “ your ally.
The Indian Prime Minister did not say a word, but the news is a hard blow. The two men have been working together for more than two decades. The duo is so close that the opposition has given them the nickname “Modani”. The success of one is inseparably linked to the other. And vice versa.
The son of a textile merchant and from a modest background, Gautam Adani has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the last three decades. He has built, in the shadow of Narendra Modi, a gigantic family empire, whose market capitalization reached almost 170 billion dollars, on Tuesday, November 19, before the revelations of the American justice system. The group’s branches now extend to almost every continent. From energy to military drones, from ports to aerospace, from coal mining to agriculture, the tycoon has aligned himself with the government’s strategic priorities.
relative discretion
The two men have a similar profile, they are not very good at studies but they are driven by excessive ambition. Their common history is sealed in Gujarat, western India, his homeland and political stronghold of Modi, who was head of government from 2001 to 2014. When the anti-Muslim pogroms of 2002, which caused 2,000 deaths, earned Narendra General opprobrium of Modi, including that of business circles, concerned about the impact of events on the economy, Adani refuses. turn your back To erase the stain of the massacres, Modi launched the Vibrant Gujarat international forum, a grand event, sponsored by the industrialist, aimed at attracting investors.
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