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by Mike Caswell

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice have filed charges against a group of men, including a former senior employee of provincial pension fund manager Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, over a $250-million bribery scheme in India. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) U.S. authorities claim that the group arranged payouts to officials in return for solar power contracts worth billions of dollars. The beneficiaries of the contracts included a New York Stock Exchange listing that the Caisse controlled, the government says.

The allegations are contained in a civil complaint and parallel indictment filed on Wednesday, Nov. 20, by the SEC and by federal prosecutors in New York. The defendants include Cyril Cabanes, 50, a French citizen who was the head of infrastructure for the Asia-Pacific region for the Caisse. Also named are East Indian businessman Gautam Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani.

The scheme, as set out by the SEC, arose from solar power contracts that two NYSE companies sought and eventually won in India in 2019. According to the SEC, the contracts were part of India's goal of producing at least 100 gigawatts of its power through solar means by 2022. One of the companies bidding on the projects was Azure Power Global Ltd., an NYSE listing that had the Caisse as its largest shareholder. According to the SEC, the Caisse controlled four seats on Azure's board, including that of the company's chairman.

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