PM Modi is incapable to arrest Gautam Adani: Rahul Gandhi after tycoon charged with bribery and fraud in the US

Addressing a presser, Rahul claimed no action will be taken against billionaire Gautam Adani who "controls" the Prime Minister.

"I can guarantee no investigation or arrest will take place as this person is associated with the Prime Minister," the Congress leader said. "Even if he tries, the Prime Minister will not be able to take any action because he is controlled by Adani."

"If Gautam Adani is arrested, the Prime Minister will be exposed," the Rae Bareli MP added.

Responding to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT Cell head Amit Malviya's claim that the states mentioned in the indictment were all opposition ruled states, Rahul said, "The investigation must take place in any state even if it is ruled by the opposition. But the investigation must take place and the kingpin must be arrested."

Malviya had posted on X, ".. Since the power was costly, the SDCs were not willing to buy. Therefore, the Adanis (in collusion with Azure Power; a US firm) paid the equivalent of US $265 million to SDCs based in Odisha (BJD ruled), Tamilnadu (DMK), Chattisgarh (Congress) and Andhra Pradesh (YSRCP) between Jul 21 and Feb 22 (by far the largest to AP).

"All the States mentioned here were Opposition ruled during that time. So, before you pontificate, answer on the bribes the Congress and its allies accepted."

Adani, who is one of the richest people in the world, has been charged with a multibillion-dollar bribery and fraud scheme.

The billionaire and other executives of the conglomerate including his nephew Sagar Adani have been charged with agreeing to pay $265 million to Indian officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars for his renewable energy company.

"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 as quoted by BBC News.

"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.

It has also been alleged that on several occasions, Adani, who is accused of being close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the Opposition, met Indian officials personally to hold discussions on the alleged bribery scheme.

On November 13, Adani marked his announcement of his investment of $10 billion in US energy security and infrastructure projects along with his congratulatory message to US President-elect Donald Trump.

Adani wrote on X, "Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump. As the partnership between India and the United States deepens, the Adani Group is committed to leveraging its global expertise and invest $10 billion in US energy security and resilient infrastructure projects, aiming to create up to 15,000 jobs. "

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Adani for "defrauding American investors and bribing officials", The Times of India reported.

Sagar Adani, Adani Green Energy executives and Cyril Cabanes have been charged with conspiring to "commit securities and wire fraud, as well as substantive securities fraud, for their roles in a multi-billion dollar scheme to obtain funds from US investors and global financial institutions through false and misleading statements".

Prosecutors claimed Adani was referred to by some conspiracy by code names 'Numero uno' and 'the big man'.