NEW DELHI: Kenya‘s President William Ruto on Thursday cancelled multimillion-dollar expansion and energy deals with Adani group “based on new information provided by our investigative agencies and partner nations.”
Adani group had been in the process of signing an agreement with the Kenyan government to modernize its main airport in Nairobi, with an additional runway and terminal constructed, in exchange for the group running the airport for 30 years.
The deal had sparked protests in Kenya and a strike by airport workers, who said it would lead to degraded working conditions and job losses in some cases.
Meanwhile, energy minister Opiyo Wandayi said that there was no bribery or corruption involved in the award of a contract to a unit of Adani group to build power lines in the country
“There has been no case of corruption or bribery as far as PIP (Privately-initiated proposal) with Adani Energy Solutions is concerned,” he told Kenya’s Senate committee on finance.
Wandayi said Kenya’s Public-Private Partnership Act required a review and verification of documents provided by Adani Energy Solutions showing its compliance with laws and taxes in its country of origin, India.
“We had no knowledge of any other adverse matters … and therefore we are proceeding on the basis of the outcome of the very rigorous due diligence exercise that was undertaken by the contracting authority in line with the law.”
Adani Energy Solutions in October signed a 30-year, $736 million public-private partnership deal with the Kenya Electrical Transmission Company. A court, however, suspended the contract in the same month.
Earlier in the day, US prosecutors indicted Adani on charges of duping investors in a solar energy project in India by concealing that it was facilitated by an alleged $265 million scheme to bribe officials.
He was charged with securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud.
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