Nairobi:Kenya president William Ruto said Thursday he has cancelled multimillion-dollar airport expansion and energy deals with Indian tycoon Gautam Adani after U.S. bribery and fraud indictments against one of Asia's richest men.
President William Ruto in a State of the Nation address said the decision was made “based on new information provided by our investigative agencies and partner nations.” He didn't specify the United States.
The Adani group had been in the process of signing an agreement that would modernise Kenya’s main airport in the capital, Nairobi, with an additional runway and terminal constructed, in exchange for the group running the airport for 30 years.
The widely criticised deal had sparked anti-Adani protests in Kenya and a strike by airport workers, who said it would lead to degraded working conditions and job losses in some cases.
The Adani group had also been awarded a deal to construct power transmission lines in Kenya, East Africa's business hub. Also Thursday, Energy Minister Opiyo Wandayi told a parliamentary committee there had been no bribery or corruption involved on Kenya's part in signing that deal.
Gautam Adani has been charged by US prosecutors for allegedly being part of an elaborate scheme to pay USD 265 million (about Rs 2,200 crore) bribe to Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms for solar power contracts.
The bombshell allegations, which Adani group denied saying it is innocent until proven guilty, may have a widespread fallout ranging from reputational risk to the conglomerate, inability to raise funds from the US market and the billionaire being forced to restrict his overseas travels to opening a political pandora's box that will give the Opposition another tool to target the government just as Parliament meets for the winter session, starting Monday.
A school dropout, Gautam Adani founded his namesake group in 1988 as a commodities trading firm and built a business empire that now spans airports, shipping ports, power generation, energy transmission and mining companies.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ties with industrialist Gautam Adani pose a tremendous risk to India's foreign policy and economic interests overseas.
In a post on X, Ramesh said Kenya cancelled the airport and power transmission deals with the Adani group after he was indicted by the US for alleged bribery.
"It was expected to happen and it has today. Kenya has cancelled the airport and power transmission deals of the Modani Group. The non-biological PM's long-standing relationship with the Adani Group is globally well known – and poses a tremendous risk for India’s foreign policy and economic interests overseas.
"Remember, former Kenyan PM Railo Odinga - who is under attack for favouritism to the Adani Group - admitted that he was introduced to the businessman over a decade ago by the-then CM of Gujarat, who also lobbied aggressively for the A Group," the Congress leader said in his post. (With inputs from AP and PTI)
