(Reuters) – Indian billionaire Gautam Adani heads a vast conglomerate involved in a wide range of industries, from building airports to providing electricity and selling cooking oil.
U.S. authorities have accused Adani, his nephew and executive director Sagar Adani, and managing director of Adani Green, Vneet S. Jaain, of participating in a scheme to pay $265 million in bribes to secure power supply contracts in India, as well as misleading U.S. investors during fundraising efforts.
The group has denied the allegations.
Here is an overview of the Adani Group’s business operations:
** Energy: Adani Power mines thermal coal and generates power through its subsidiary Adani Power, which is then distributed by Adani Energy Solutions.
The renewable energy division of the conglomerate, Adani Green Energy, focuses on solar, wind, and hybrid power generation and operates in multiple Indian states.
Adani Total Gas, a joint venture with TotalEnergies, distributes piped natural gas.
** Airports: Since 2019, the group has been managing airports in major Indian cities such as Mumbai, Jaipur, and Thiruvananthapuram through its flagship company, Adani Enterprises.
The flagship company also has interests in roadways, real estate, and infrastructure.
** Edible oils and food: Adani Wilmar, a joint venture with Wilmar International, produces edible oils and packaged food items like basmati rice, wheat flour, and sugar.
** Port operations: Adani Ports, the top private port operator in India, oversees 13 domestic ports, including Mundra, the busiest private port in the country. The company also has stakes in ports in Israel and Sri Lanka.
** Cement: In 2022, the group entered the cement industry by acquiring stakes in Ambuja Cements and ACC. It has been actively acquiring assets to compete with India’s leading cement maker, UltraTech Cement.
** Media: Adani expanded into the media industry by acquiring Quintillion Business Media in 2022, followed by deals with NDTV and IANS in subsequent years.
The group also operates data centers across the country.
** Defence and aerospace: Adani is one of the few private companies in India’s defense industry, supplying domestically manufactured weapons to the Indian armed forces. In 2018, the group signed a supply agreement with Israel’s Elbit Systems.