Three former executives of pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) face criminal charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for an alleged bribery scheme involving Gautam Adani, India’s second-richest person.
Oh my, what intrigue…
What happened: The SEC claims that Indian energy companies Adani Green Energy and Azure Power — of which CDPQ is the largest shareholder — worked together to promise over US$250 million in bribes to Indian officials to secure lucrative solar energy contracts.
- The CDPQ execs allegedly helped facilitate payments, devising a plan to give Adani Green a piece of an Azure project to cover a one-third share of the bribes.
- The employees are also accused of interfering with SEC and FBI investigations by covering the paper trail — deleting emails and presentations detailing bribes.
Why it matters: Though the three execs were let go last year, the indictment claims Adani knew “the Canadian Investor [CDPQ] had approved the corrupt agreement.” It’s a black mark for one of Canada’s top pension funds, with $452 billion in net assets.
What’s next: The CDPQ told The Logic that it’s co-operating with authorities. As for the billionaire Adani, it’s unclear if U.S. officials will be able to extradite him from India.—QH