Sri Lanka revokes Adani power deal amid US bribery and fraud investigation: Report

The Sri Lankan government has revoked a power purchase agreement with the Adani Group following a United States investigation into bribery and fraud allegations against its chairperson, Gautam Adani, AFP reported on Friday.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s administration had launched inquiries into Adani Group projects in Sri Lanka after Gautam Adani was indicted in November by a US court over alleged corruption related to solar projects in India.

In May 2024, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe had approved an agreement to purchase electricity at $0.0826 per kilowatt-hour from an Adani wind power facility planned in the island’s northwest. However, an unidentified energy ministry official told AFP that Dissanayake’s cabinet revoked the deal earlier this month.

“The government has revoked the power purchase agreement, but the project is not cancelled,” AFP quoted the official as saying. “A committee has been appointed to review the entire project.”

AFP cited official documents as confirming that Sri Lanka’s cabinet decided to reassess the construction of the 484-megawatt wind power plant, which is planned for the Mannar and Pooneryn regions. The project is also being challenged in the country’s Supreme Court over environmental concerns.

Activists have argued that smaller renewable energy providers offered electricity at nearly two-thirds the price proposed by the Adani Group.

The conglomerate is also involved in building a…

Read more