The Kenyan government on Thursday scrapped its airport and energy deal with the Adani Group, hours after the conglomerate’s chairperson Gautam Adani was indicted in New York over his role in an alleged multi billion-dollar bribery and fraud scheme, AFP reported.
Kenyan President William Ruto said that he has directed the relevant agencies to āimmediately cancelā the ongoing procurement process related to Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and a state-owned electricity service with Adani Group.
In a state of the nation address, Ruto said the decision was made ābased on new information provided by our investigative agencies and partner nations. He, however, did not name the United States, reported the Associated Press.
“In the face of undisputed evidence or credible information on corruption, I will not hesitate to take decisive action,” Ruto was quoted as saying by AFP.
The Adani group had been in the process of signing an agreement that would modernise Kenyaās main airport in Nairobi, with an additional runway and terminal constructed, in exchange for the group running the airport for 30 years.
The deal had sparked protests against the conglomerate in Kenya. A strike was also called by airport workers in September, according to AP. They had alleged that the deal would lead to degraded working conditions and job losses in some cases.
Gautam Adani’s indictment
The US Department of Justice has indicted Gautam Adani, the founder of Adani Group, his nephew Sagar Adani, and other senior Adani Green executives for allegedly bribing or offering bribes to the tune of $265 million to Indian state government officials to get them to sign solar power contracts.
The US case rests on the premise that Adani Green bribed government officials in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, and possibly Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), to get their power distribution companies (discoms) to commit to purchasing solar power at above market rates.
Adani group has denied the charges and called them ābaselessā. Asserting that it is fully compliant with all laws.
However, shares of Adani Group companies, including Adani Enterprises, Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Ports and Adani Green Energy, fell sharply by up to nearly 23% on Thursday.
