Visiting the US in March 2023, Sagar Adani, nephew of Indian billionaire tycoon Gautam Adani, was suddenly approached by FBI agents who seized his electronic devices as part of a sweeping probe into an alleged years-long kickback scheme involving an Adani group’s renewables business.

Almost 20 months later, US authorities have unveiled bribery charges against Sagar, 30, and his uncle, a hugely influential business leader who is Asia’s second-richest man and widely seen as having close ties to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The criminal and civil cases allege Adani family members and group leaders, along with former executives of Indian renewable company Azure Power and Canadian pension fund CDPQ, schemed to funnel $265mn in bribes to Indian officials to secure solar contracts. The scheme was allegedly concealed from US banks and investors from which Adani raised billions of dollars.