Andhra Pradesh reviews possibility of scrapping Adani power deal: Report

The state government of Andhra Pradesh is reviewing its files to explore the possibility of canceling a power supply contract with the Adani Group, whose billionaire founder Gautam Adani has been indicted in the United States, Reuters reported. 
US authorities have charged Gautam Adani and seven others for allegedly agreeing to pay bribes of $265 million to unnamed Indian government officials to secure solar power-supply contracts in Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir between 2021 and 2022.
According to the US indictment, most of the alleged bribes, amounting to $228 million, were paid to a government official to get Andhra Pradesh’s electricity companies to buy power. However, Adani has denied the allegations, calling them baseless.
Andhra Pradesh’s state government is reviewing all internal files from the previous administration, during which the alleged misconduct took place, said state finance minister Payyavula Keshav told Reuters on Monday.
“We will also examine what can be done next, like is there a possibility to cancel the contract … state government is looking into this issue closely,” said Keshav. 
The Adani Group spokesperson was unavailable for comment outside regular business hours, the report added. 
The YSR Congress Party, which previously ruled Andhra Pradeshhas denied any wrongdoing last week.
The US indictment document mentioned that following the payment of alleged bribes to Indian officials, Andhra Pradesh’s electricity distribution companies entered into a power supply agreement to purchase “approximately seven gigawatts of solar power – by far the largest amount of any Indian state or region.”
The United States charges are the biggest setback for billionaire Gautam Adani, whose company shares and bonds have fallen sharply since the indictment.
French oil major TotalEnergies, which has a 20 percent stake in Adani Green, halted further investment into the Adani Group on Monday.
Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani have been summoned to explain their stand on the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allegation of paying USD 265 million ( ₹2,200 crore) in bribes to secure lucrative solar power contracts, news agency PTI reported.