Adani Bribery Allegations Resurface as India Sacks Solar Energy Chief

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy on 10 May terminated the services of Rameshwar Prasad Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director of the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), with immediate effect. No reason was provided in the official order, which came roughly a month before the end of his scheduled tenure.

Gupta, a retired Indian Administrative Service officer from the Gujarat cadre, had previously served as Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He was appointed to lead SECI in June 2023.

SECI is a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and serves as India’s primary agency for renewable energy auctions and power procurement. It has recently faced scrutiny over its role in a sprawling bribery case brought by US authorities against Gautam Adani, head of the Adani Group, and senior executives within his companies.

In November 2024, the United States Department of Justice charged Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and Adani Green Energy Managing Director Vneet S Jaain with allegedly orchestrating a scheme to pay over Rs 2,000 crore (approximately $240 million) in bribes to Indian officials in order to secure solar energy contracts via SECI. The charges were part of a broader investigation into corporate corruption affecting global investors.

While SECI has not been formally accused of wrongdoing by US authorities, the agency was repeatedly referenced in the case as the intermediary through which several power purchase agreements were finalised between Adani’s companies and Indian state governments. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Rs 1,750 crore of the alleged bribes were offered to a former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh to facilitate one such deal.

The Indian National Congress party has seized on Gupta’s.