Nairobi — President William Ruto has directed the cancellation of infrastructure and energy deals with Indian billionaire Gautam Adani following criminal charges in the US.
In his State of the Nation address in Parliament, Ruto said the Public Private Partnership (PPP) for the expansion of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (KETRACO) are now cancelled due to the latest information.
Adani was indicted by the US Department of Justice, alongside his nephew Sagar Adani, for orchestrating a bribery scheme involving more than $250 million in payments to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts.
"I now direct in furtherance of the principles enshrined in article 10 of the Constitution on transparent accountability and based on new information provided by investigative agencies and partner nations that the procuring agencies within the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Energy Petroleum to immediately cancel the ongoing procurement process for the JKIA expansion," he said.
The President urged the relevant ministries and agencies to find alternative firms that can undertake the JKIA expansion and the KETRACO transmission deal terming them as important projects which require foreign investors.
"They should begin the process of onboarding alternative partners because these are important projects. We value the contribution of all whether it comes in the form of support, criticism or protest. The most important component of leadership is listening and learning," President Ruto noted.
The president made the announcement hours after Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi said the ideas with Adani will proceed, citing due diligence done before the signing.
Appearing before the Parliamentary Energy Committee over the controversial Ketraco-Adani deal, CS Wandayi noted that the government conducted two phases of due diligence exercise on Adani including a documentary review process where the company demonstrated technical, legal and financial capacity for the construction of electricity transmission lines and substations.
The US Department of Justice said the fraudulent scheme targeted US investors, enabling Adani Green Energy Ltd. to raise $175 million under false pretences. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also filed parallel charges against Adani executives and Cyril Cabanes of Azure Power Global.
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This isn't the first controversy for Adani. In January 2023, US-based Hindenburg Research accused Adani of "brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud." The report led to an $80 billion decline in Adani's net worth, though his fortune currently stands at $85.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Adani, often seen as an ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has denied all allegations, calling the Hindenburg report "nothing but a lie".
