Former Quebec pension fund workers charged in U.S. in Indian government bribery case

Quebec’s pension fund manager says it is co-operating with American authorities after three former employees were charged with bribery and obstructing justice in a New York federal court earlier this week. The Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec headquarters is seen in downtown Montreal, Wednesday, Aug.16, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Christinne Muschi)

Quebec’s pension fund manager says it is co-operating with United States authorities after three former employees were indicted in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., in an alleged scheme to give hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to the Indian government.

The former employees of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec have been charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for allegedly taking part in a plot with Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, chairman of conglomerate Adani Group — a man with close ties to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and who is one of the world’s richest people.

Cyril Cabanes, ex-managing director for the Asia-Pacific region with the pension manager; Saurabh Agarwal, former managing director with the Caisse in India; and Deepak Malhotra, ex-infrastructure director for South Asia with the Caisse were also charged with conspiracy to obstruct a grand jury and the FBI.

"Between approximately 2020 and 2024, the defendants agreed to pay more than (US)$250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts with the Indian government, which were projected to generate more than $2 billion in profits after tax over an approximately 20-year period," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a news release earlier this week.

As part of the alleged scheme sometime around 2022, the three former Caisse executives and another Indian national named in the indictment agreed to "destroy and suppress documents and communications and provide false information to the United States government in connection with the government investigations," U.S. court documents say.

Cabanes, 50, is a French and Australian citizen, while Agarwal, 48, and Deepak Malhotra, 45, are both Indian citizens. None of the three accused were immediately available for comment.

The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec says it is aware of charges against "certain former employees." In an email, the pension fund manager said, “Those employees were all terminated in 2023 and CDPQ is co-operating with U.S. authorities. In light of the pending cases, we have no further comment at this time."

Adani, 62, was charged with securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud. The case involves a lucrative arrangement for Adani Green Energy Ltd. — Adani Group's renewable energy arm — and another firm to sell 12 gigawatts of solar power to the Indian government — enough to light millions of homes and businesses.

The indictment paints Adani and his co-defendants as playing two sides of the deal. It accuses them of portraying it as rosy and above board to Wall Street investors who poured several billion dollars into the project over the last five years while, back in India, they were allegedly paying or planning to pay about $265 million in bribes to government officials to help secure billions of dollars’ worth of contracts and financing.

The tycoon and his co-defendants sought to “obtain and finance massive state energy supply contracts through corruption and fraud at the expense of U.S. investors,” deputy assistant attorney general Lisa Miller said. U.S. attorney Breon Peace said the defendants “orchestrated an elaborate scheme” and sought to “enrich themselves at the expense of the integrity of our financial markets.”

The Adani group denied the allegations against directors of Adani Green Energy as “baseless,” and said they will be seeking legal recourse.

None of the people charged in the case have been arrested.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2024.

— With files from The Associated Press.