The Kenyan government has terminated all public-private partnership agreements made with branches of India’s Adani Group after billionaire owner Gautam Adani was indicted in New York on Wednesday.
During his State of the Nation address to parliament on Thursday, President William Ruto announced the scrapping of contentious multimillion-dollar contracts in the energy, transport, and health sectors, citing the availability of “credible information on corruption.”
The US Department of Justice has accused Adani of orchestrating payments exceeding $250 million in bribes to officials in India to obtain solar energy supply contracts and misleading US investors to fund the venture.
The Adani Group has rejected these allegations.
Kenya’s public-private partnerships law prohibits the government from engaging with corrupt entities, which includes those “sued or convicted for acts of corruption” in other jurisdictions.
Last month, Adani Energy Solutions entered into a $736 million agreement with Kenya’s electricity transmission company to construct and manage power transmission lines and substations, but a Nairobi court has suspended its execution until a case contesting the contract is heard.
Additionally, a subsidiary of the Adani Group secured a $1.85 billion contract this year to renovate and run Kenya’s largest airport under a 30-year concession, stemming from a privately initiated proposal (PIP).
However, a Nairobi court halted the agreement’s implementation in September due to legal disputes regarding alleged transparency issues and lack of value for money.
