President William Ruto Cancels Adani Deals

BT ReporterNov 21, 202423

President William Ruto has ordered the cancellation of all Adani Group deals in the country.

Speaking during the State of the Nation Address on Thursday, November 21, 2024, Ruto said he made the move after receiving intelligence about the company.

The cancellation will affect the JKIA expansion through public-private partnership transaction as well as the recently concluded KETRACO transmission contract.

The president has also ordered the concerned agencies to immediately commence the process of onboarding alternative partners.

“I have stated in the past, and I reiterate today, that in the face of undisputed evidence or credible information on corruption, I will not hesitate to take decisive action. Accordingly, I now direct – in furtherance of the principles enshrined in Article 10 of the Constitution on transparency and accountability, and based on new information provided by our investigative agencies and partner nations – that the procuring agencies within the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum immediately cancel the ongoing procurement process for the JKIA Expansion Public Private Partnership transaction, as well as the recently concluded KETRACO transmission line Public Private Partnership contract, and immediately commence the process of onboarding alternative partners,” Ruto stated.

Adani charged

This comes moments after Indian billionaire Gautam Adani was charged with fraud in the US, which has accused him of orchestrating a Ksh32 billion ($250 million or £198m) bribery scheme and concealing it to raise money in the US.

The criminal charges, filed on Wednesday in New York, are the latest blow to 62-year-old Adani, one of India’s richest men, whose business empire extends from ports and airports to renewable energy.

In the indictment, prosecutors alleged the tycoon and other senior executives had agreed to the payments to Indian officials to win contracts for his renewable energy company expected to yield more than Ksh259 billion ($2bn) in profits over 20 years.

The conglomerate has been operating under a cloud in the US since 2023, when a high-profile company published a report accusing it of fraud. The claims, which Mr Adani denied, prompted a major market sell-off.

Reports of this bribery probe have been circling for months. Prosecutors said the US started investigating the company in 2022, and found the inquiry obstructed.

They allege that executives raised $3bn in loans and bonds, including from US firms, on the backs of false and misleading statements related to the firm’s anti-bribery practices and policies, as well as reports of the bribery probe.

“As alleged, the defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars and… lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from U.S. and international investors,” US Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement announcing the charges.

“My office is committed to rooting out corruption in the international marketplace and protecting investors from those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of the integrity of our financial markets,” he added.

Read: Kenya’s Darling Investor Gautam Adani Lands in Trouble the US

>>> Ruto: Public Private Partnerships Is the Way to Go!