Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission has launched a full audit of the power import agreement with India’s Adani Group amid allegations of customs duty evasion and irregular tax exemptions totaling about $390 million.
A three-member ACC committee, led by Deputy Director Al Amin with Muhammad Zainul Abedin and Mahmudul Hasan as members, will review the contract’s structure, financial feasibility and any potential losses. The team has 45 days to complete the audit and may recommend canceling the deal if it is found to have violated the law.
The probe follows findings by the National Board of Revenue, which alleged that Adani Power failed to pay required customs duties and taxes on electricity imported from its 1,600-megawatt Godda power plant in Jharkhand, India. Investigators said no bills of entry were filed and that the Bangladesh Power Development Board granted exemptions without NBR approval.
Adani’s business empire has long benefited from close ties with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with officials in New Delhi viewing the conglomerate as integral to the country’s economic strategy. The government’s direction of state funds, including from the Life Insurance Corporation of India, toward Adani companies has been seen as part of efforts to promote flagship infrastructure and cross-border energy projects, including those in Bangladesh.
Separately, U.S. prosecutors in Brooklyn have charged Gautam Adani and seven senior executives with allegedly orchestrating a scheme to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian officials to win solar energy contracts. The indictment accuses them of concealing the payments from American investors through falsified financial statements and misleading bond offerings, portraying the conglomerate as blurring the line between private enterprise and state-backed industrial policy.
Following the ouster of the Awami League government, Bangladesh’s interim administration formed a national review committee to reassess power sector contracts signed under the Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provisions) Act of 2010.