Category: Updates from the Field

  • Adani’s Empty Promises: Unraveling a Potential Investment Mirage

    Adani’s Empty Promises: Unraveling a Potential Investment Mirage

    In the high-stakes world of international business and politics, promises can be as ephemeral as smoke—and sometimes just as deceptive. The case of Gautam Adani, an Indian billionaire facing serious fraud allegations, exemplifies how grand proclamations of economic transformation can mask potentially corrupt practices. What begins as a tantalizing tweet about massive U.S. investments quickly unravels under scrutiny, revealing a narrative of political maneuvering, dubious claims, and potential systematic deception.

    Last November Gautam Adani, one of the world’s richest men, was charged with fraud and bribery by the US Department of Justice for an alleged scheme to bribe Indian Government officials and defraud U.S investors. Since the indictment numerous Republican representatives have expressed outrage at their own government for daring to hold Adani accountable. These representatives are MAGA diehards and their criticisms of the DOJ are predictable, weak – and sometimes bizarre. Their letters claim that George Soros is secretly controlling the Department of Justice. They also claim that the US has no jurisdiction to investigate bribery. The most outrageous claim, however, is that Adani is poised to bring thousands of jobs and billions in investment to the United States.

    It goes without saying that “creating jobs and investment” is not a defense in a bribery trial. However, the idea that Adani is on the verge of a spending spree creating thousands of U.S. jobs might make some Americans think that dropping charges could be a good idea. Who doesn’t want to unleash a tidal wave of prosperity and employment? However, the evidence is pretty clear: Americans waiting to get hired by Adani will be waiting a long long time. 

    Adani is founder and Chairman of the Adani Group is a multinational conglomerate involved in everything from ports to energy production to infrastructure development. Much of Adani’s financial success comes from lucrative government contracts granted by India’s ruling party.

    The Promised Investment

    The massive U.S. investment plan has been most explicitly detailed in a single tweet by Gautam Adani himself – shortly after the election of Donald Trump. In his tweet Adani offered congratulations to the new American President and committed to leverage “global expertise and invest $10 billion in US energy security, aiming to create up to 15,000 jobs.” Beneath that commitment Adani added an A.I. generated image of an industrial utopia replete with busy ports, trainlines, tractors, multiple jet planes and the sun streaming through conjoined US and Indian flags.

    Legal Challenges and Political Maneuvering

    Seven days later, in New York, Adani and other executives were indicted on charges related to millions of dollars in alleged bribes, and all talk of new U.S. investment disappeared as Adani stock plunged. However, Adani and his American allies soon got to work hiring multiple American law firms and lining up lobbyist support. Soon after, MAGA-aligned Republican representatives were openly declaring that the charges were unfair. Following a State visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House, the Financial Times announced that the “investment plan” was potentially back on – as long as the charges against Adani are dropped.

    Lack of Substantial Evidence

    It’s easy to understand why Adani and his MAGA allies want people to believe that a wave of jobs and prosperity will magically appear if he’s not charged. However, if you take away a 40-word tweet, the evidence for a massive job creation plan gets very thin indeed. While Sudipta Bhattacharya holds the impressive title of CEO – Adani Group North America, it’s unclear whether the Group even has an actual office in the US. Mail is directed to an address in Jersey City. Adani’s one business that actually is registered in the United States, Adani Solar USA, has used a variety of addresses on government forms – including what appears to be a residential home in Dallas – for their lobbying registrations. 

    Hindenburg Research titled their 2023 Report on Adani, “The Largest Con In Corporate History”. The title speaks for itself, detailing a long history of allegations of money laundering, theft of taxpayer funds and corruption. The report quotes one insider with knowledge of Adani’s business practices saying, “[A]s an investor why would you invest with Adani Group? Because you know that the stock is inflated, you know that they cannot be trusted…. looking at the business, I mean it’s a house of cards, it´s all fueled on debt… I think that this is really how brazen this is happening. It´s like, almost like the Russia of the late 90s, that´s what´s happening.” Any American expecting Adani to magically create 15,000 jobs would do well to remember these words.

    i Times of India, Feb 11, 2025 “Adani indictment: 6 Congressmen writes to Attorney General”

    ii For more details of Adani’s wealth and its impact on ordinary families read ACORN’S report “Adani Group and Dharavi: Corporate Expansion, Political Connections, and Community Displacement in Mumbai”

    iii Link

    iv Link

    v Link

  • Adani Report

    Adani Report

    For nearly two decades, ACORN International has supported organizations working in Dharavi, a community of millions in the heart of Mumbai.

    The report details the dangers facing residents in the face of a re-development contract granted to the Adani Group, questions about the granting of the contract and the history of the Adani Group including the serious concerns about corporate governance and criminal indictments.

    Introduction

    For over two decades, ACORN International has proudly worked with affiliated organizers around the world to build community power in the face of growing inequality and concentration of wealth. The “re-development” plans for Dharavi, a community of thousands of people in the heart of Mumbai in India, exemplifies that challenge.

    A community that has inspired millions with its innovation is threatened with mass eviction and unemployment, while one of the world’s richest men, Gautam Adani, stands to expand his multi-billion empire. This paper outlines the issues at stake, the ways in which the struggle facing the people of Dharavi touches the livelihood and savings of people all over the world, and most importantly, the action you can take to build community power – in Dharavi and your own community.

    Who is Gautam Adani?

    Adani Group is the 2nd largest conglomerate in India, with a wide-range of enterprises encompassing transport and utility infrastructure, energy generation and large-scale infrastructure. The Group also includes what one report described as “a maze of Adani private companies and family trusts”. In 2023, Adani’s publicly traded equities had a collective market value of about INR 17.8 trillion (U.S. $218 billion).

    The man behind the Group is its Chairman and Founder Gautam Adani, a man who regularly tops rankings as one of the world’s richest men. In September 2022, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index ranked Adani as the second-richest person on the planet, second only to Elon Musk.

    Gautam Adani originally hailed from the Gujarat region of India, moving to Mumbai in 1978. He started work in the diamond trade and moved into importing and exporting taking advantage of economic liberalisation of India’s import and export policies. By 2001, the Adani Group had developed and was operating one of India’s first private ports in Mundra in a government-sponsored “Special Economic Zone”. Soon Adani expanded into coal trading, becoming one of India’s largest coal importers by 2006, and acquiring coal mining assets in India and Australia. In 2006, Adani expanded into power generation becoming India’s largest private power producer by 2014. Today, Adani has expanded into everything from infrastructure, to property development to green energy.

    Political connections and controversy

    Throughout Adani’s dramatic expansion, observers point to its founder’s close relationship to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party the BJP. Modi and Adani forged a relationship in the 1990s, long before Modi became Prime Minister.  Adani has been a supporter of Modi since he was an upcoming politician in Gujarat province. When Modi was first elected Prime Minister in 2014, he flew to New Delhi in a private jet branded with the Adani logo. It’s been a prosperous friendship.

    Stock in Adani’s conglomerate nearly doubled the year after Mr. Modi was elected, and expanded eight-fold when Modi was re-elected in 2019. As the New York Times describes it, “The Adani Group [has become] a logistics arm of the government, building up ports, highways, bridges and solar farms at speeds never before seen.” 

    Those close political connections have raised serious questions and controversy. India’s Auditor General found that between 2006 and 2009, when Narendra Modi was Chief Minister of Gujarat, the state-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation bought natural gas from the open market and sold it to Adani Energy at less than market value. The land for the Mundra port was sold to Adani by Modi’s state government at a nominal price and then granted “special economic zone” status, with lowered taxes. As Prime Minister, Modi’s removed officials who opposed supplying discounted coal to Adani and other companies.  In  Jharkhand, the BJP-led state government exempted Adani from legal requirements when building generating facilities in Godda, saving Adani an estimated $1 billion USD. When airports in India were privatized, the initial criteria prevented Adani from bidding on the contracts. However, the rules were changed and Adani was granted six of the six 50-year leases. 

    Adani, in turn, has supported Modi for decades– assisting his election campaigns and helping shape his political image.  “Everywhere that Prime Minister Narendra Modi goes, it seems, Gautam Adani is sure to go,” remarked the Hindustan Times in 2015.

    “The Largest Con in Corporate History”?

    Over the last two years, questions about Adani’s corporate governance, business practices and soundness as an investment have grown too loud to ignore.

    In November of 2024, a five-count criminal indictment was unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York charging Gautam Adani and several associates with conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud and substantive securities fraud. The indictment alleges that between 2020 and 2024, Adani and his associates conspired to pay over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy supply contracts with the Indian government, expected to generate over $2 billion in profits over 20 years.

    Adani himself is alleged to have met with Indian officials to advance the scheme, and the indictment details in-person and electronic meetings where the bribery efforts were discussed and planned in meticulous tracking – with documents summarizing bribe payments, and even PowerPoint presentations on options for concealing the bribes. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa Miller described the allegations as “schemes to pay over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials, to lie to investors and banks to raise billions of dollars, and to obstruct justice.”   

    The indictment is hardly the first-time concerns have been raised about Adani’s business. In 2023, the Financial Times reported that the Adani Group used offshore intermediaries in Taiwan, Dubai and Singapore to import $5 billion-worth of coal at prices that were at times more than double the market price, inflating fuel costs and leading millions of Indian consumers and businesses to overpay for electricity.

    In a 2023 report, Hindenburg Research described Adani as “The Largest Con in Corporate History” and accused the Adani Group of extensive stock manipulation, accounting fraud, and misuse of tax havens. Hindenburg described what they believed to have found as “the most egregious example of corporate fraud in history. We have uncovered evidence of brazen accounting fraud, stock manipulation and money laundering at Adani, taking place over the course of decades. Adani has pulled off this gargantuan feat with the help of enablers in government and a cottage industry of international companies that facilitate these activities.”

    Many investors are looking closely at the way Adani operates. The British Columbia Investment Management Corporation has used their proxy votes to raise concerns about “problematic compensation issues” and “insiders on the board” Other investment funds have divested entirely from Adani, noting concerns about weak corporate governance and ethics guidelines.

     The Government Pension Fund of Norway announced in early 2023 that they had sold all interests in Adani companies .  In their “Responsible Investment 2023 Report”, they noted: “Adani, a multinational conglomerate, is a concrete example of our external managers’ approach to avoiding companies with weak corporate governance.

    Early in 2023, Adani plummeted in value due to fraud allegations. Prior to these allegations and despite Adani’s significant weight in the benchmark, our external managers took the active decision to avoid investing in the Adani franchises. Their decision was based on investment and research processes that incorporate ESG [Environmental, social, and governance] information. This decision helped us avoid being significantly invested in the Adani conglomerate once the allegations became public.”

    Image source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india-today-insight/story/why-its-a-rocky-road-ahead-for-adani-group-2644837-2024-12-04

    Governments are reviewing their business with Adani as well. Following the US indictment, Kenya’s government cancelled a $736-million public-private partnership deal that an Adani Group firm signed with the energy ministry to construct power and cancelled a procurement process expected to reward Adani with a 30-year lease for a key Kenyan airport. Bangladesh has called for re-negotiation of a power purchase deal with Adani Group amid concerns about the contract.

    The struggles facing residents of Dharavi

    ACORN’s affiliates have worked in Dharavi, in the heart of Mumbai, for almost twenty years – organizing informal workers, operating community centres and youth programs.

    Dharavi is one of the most densely populated residential areas in the world. Based in the heart of Mumbai, the geographical area is just over 2.39 sq. km in size but supports a population of about 300,000 to a million people.  For over a century, when internal migration started forcing people to move rural areas to Mumbai, new economically challenged residents found a home Dharavi. 

    It is sometimes derided as “the world’s largest slum” but others see a vibrant thriving and inspiring community: “within this bustling labyrinthine settlement lies the rich history of the diverse communities that call this place home…. despite its cramped quarters and challenging living conditions, the residents have managed to build a thriving micro-economy” King Charles of Britain once described Dharavi as a model community that other countries could learn from. In his book “Harmony” he wrote, “The real lesson I took from Dharavi was about the vast asset we can call community capital… We have a great deal to learn about how complex systems can self-organise to create a harmonious whole.”                                                                                                                         

    Given the location of Dharavi in the center of Mumbai’s residential and commercial districts, the community has always faced developmental pressure. However, development is now coming in a way that threatens millions of people with forced eviction, loss of jobs and destruction of their community.

    In November 2022, the real estate unit of Adani Enterprises was awarded the right to redevelop the Dharavi neighborhood. A re-development corporation named Navbharat Mega Developers Pvt Ltd (NMDPL) has been established as a special purpose vehicle between the Government of Maharashtra and the Adani Group, but it is the Adani Group which holds an 80% controlling stake.

    While Adani insists re-development plans will be sustainable and meet the needs of current Dharavi residents, local elected officials and residents’ groups simply do not believe them.  The current Adani plan would force out all residents who are unable to prove that they have lived in Dharavi for 10 years or more without redevelopment assistance or a right-to-return.  Experts predict that thousands of people are at risk of being displaced. They are calling the plan “a disaster” and some Indian leaders are calling it, “the biggest loot in modern India.”

    If you have a pension, or a government is investing on your behalf, now is the time to start asking questions of your fund managers. As one of the leading conglomerates in the growing Indian economy, Adani is attracting investment from around the world. Many municipal and government workers in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec learned that the managers behind their retirement savings were investing with Adani when the U.S. criminal indictment against Adani and Adani employees was unsealed late in 2024. Three former executives from Quebec’s largest pension fund, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec were indicted along with Adani. The Caisse and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System saw hundreds of millions of dollars of value from investment portfolios wiped out in the subsequent crash of stock.

    ACORN, and the residents of Dharavi, believe there is a better way to weld development with community interests in housing and livelihood. Why is Adani evicting people from Dharavi rather than incorporating a way to weld development with community interests in housing and livelihood?

    1. Adani Group webpage www.adani.com
    2. Hindenburg Research “Adani Group: How the World’s 3rd Richest Man Is Pulling The Largest Con In Corporate History” January 24, 2023
      https://hindenburgresearch.com/adani/
    3. Hindenburg Research “Adani Group”
      Images: Times of India, Spaisa.com
    4. Washington Post. “How political will often favors a coal billionaire and his dirty fossil fuel” December 9, 2022 https://wapo.st/42qXp9h
    5. Economic Times “Gautam Adani: Another Gujarati who made it big” December 8, 2007 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/gautam-adani-another-gujarati-who-made-it-big/articleshow/2605913.cms
    6. Business Standard “Mundra Port@25: Trailblazing entrepreneurship” November 21, 2023 https://www.business-standard.com/opinion/columns/mundra-port-25-trailblazing-entrepreneurship-123112101274 1.html
    7. Financial Times. “The mystery of the Adani coal imports that quietly doubled in value” October 12, 2023 https://www.ft.com/content/7aadb3d7-4a03-44ba-a01e-8ddd8bce29ed
    8. *The Economic Times. “The Rise and Rise of Gautam Adani” September 5, 2023 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/biz-entrepreneurship/the-rise-and-r /biz-entrepreneurship/the-rise-and-rise-of-gautam-adani/2006/slideshow/22311259.cms
    9. “Washington Post. “How political will often favors a coal billionaire and his dirty fossil fuel”
    10. Time. “The 100 Most Influential People of 2022: Gautam Adoni” May 23, 2022. https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential people-2022/6177767/gautam-adani/
    11. The New York Times.” India’s Economy and Upcoming Elections” April 1, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/01/business/india-economy-election.html?smid-url-share Image from reddit.com
    12. The Economic Times. “Gautam Adani: Meet the Man Who Built a 47,000 Crore Infrastructure Empire” September 5, 2013. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/indl-goods/svs/construction/gautam-adani-meet-the-man-who-built-rs-47000-crore-infrastructure-empire/articleshow/22304960.cms
    13. **Washington Post. December 9, 2022
    14. Washington Post. December 9, 2022
    15. Washington Post. December 9, 2022
    16. *CNBC TV18, “Adani Winning Bids for Six Airports: Former Head of Privatisation Panel Explains Key Policy Changes” January 21, 2025. https://www.cnbctv18.com/aviation/adani-winning-bids-for-six-airports-former-head-of-privatisation-panel-explains-key-policy-changes-15898141.htm
    17. “The Economist. “Why Adani Group’s Troubles Will Reverberate Across India” February 9, 2023. https://www.economist.com/briefing/2023/02/09/why-adani-groups-troubles-will-reverberate-across-india
    18. United States Attorney’s Office Press Release. “Billionaire Chairman of Conglomerate and Seven Other Senior Business Executives Indicted in Connection With Scheme to Pay Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in Bribes and Conceal Bribery Scheme From U.S. Investors” November 20, 2024 https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmy/pr/billionaire-chairman-conglomerate and-seven-other-senior-business-executives-indicted
    19. Financial Times. October 12, 2023
    20. Hindenburg Research. January 24, 2023
    21. “British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), Proxy Voting Record July 1-September 30, 2022. https://www.bci.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/01-06-PVReport-03-2022.pdf
    22. Reuters. “Norway Wealth Fund Has Sold its Stakes in Adani Companies” February 9, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/business/norway-wealth-fund-has-sold-its-stakes-adani-companies-2023-02-09/
    23. 2 Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, “Responsible Investment 2023” February 7, 2024 https://www.nbim.no/contentassets/1a797e49fdd742e2a3282e243ed3170c/gpfg_responsible investment-2023.pdf
    24. *Reuters. “Kenya drops over $2.5 billion of Adani deals after US indictment” November 21, 2024. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/kenya-cancels-/markets/deals/kenya-cancels-proposed-deals-with-adani-group-2024-11-21/
    25. Reuters. “Bangladesh Wants to Renegotiate Adani Power Deal Unless Court Concels” December 1, 2024. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/bangladesh-wants-renegotiate-adani-power-deal-unless-court-cancels-2024-12-01/
    26. “Times of India, “Mumbai’s Dharavi: What’s life like in Asia’s largest slum?” October 9, 2023 https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/destinations/mumbais-dharavi-whats-life-like-in-asias-largest-slum/articleshow/104286016.cms
    27. “Dawn, “Prince Charles hails Indian slum as model for Western life” October 9, 2010 https://www.dawn.com/news/923822/prince-charles-hails-indian-slum-as-model-for-western-life
    28. “National Herald “Adani-backed Dharavi Redevelopment Project changes name to Navbharat Mega Developers” December 29, 2024 https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/business/adani-backed-dharavi-redevelopment-project-changes-name-to-navbharat-mega-developers Image: urbz.net “Spatial dimension of businesses in Dharavi”
    29. “Financial Times. “Gautam Adani takes on plan to redevelop Mumbai’s biggest slum” November 19, 2024 https://www.ft.com/content/9bafa390-bf42-4689-ab20-25661732acef
    30. CBC News. “Redevelopment in the slum from Slumdog Millionaire has residents worried they’ll be forced out” March 17, 2023 https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/dharavi-slum-redevelopment-1.6780704
    31. “Times of India, “Congress on Dharavi project contract to Adani Group” December 17, 2023 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/106065969.cms?utm source=contentofinterest&utm medium=text&utm campaign=cppst
    32. The Globe and Mail. “Indian Billionaire Gautam Adani, Former Caisse Execs Facing Charges in Corruption Probe” November 21, 2024″ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-indian-billionaire-gautam-adani-former-caisse-execs-facing-charges-in/

  • Living Rent Members in Troglen Secure Victory: Action Against Damp, Mould, and Unsafe Living Conditions Leads to Immediate Results!

    Living Rent Members in Troglen Secure Victory: Action Against Damp, Mould, and Unsafe Living Conditions Leads to Immediate Results!

    Living Rent members at Sanctuary Housing in Troglen banded together out of concern for damp and mould in their homes, clogged gutters, and woodlice on the balconies. Residents banded together and took action- submitting a petition with over 70 signatures demanding a meeting with Sanctuary’s Housing Director, and marching on the central office. Within a week, results were secured, just in time for Christmas!

  • ACORN Honduras Wraps Up 2024 with Strong Connections: Evaluating Progress and Expanding Support for Children’s Rights into 2025.

    ACORN Honduras Wraps Up 2024 with Strong Connections: Evaluating Progress and Expanding Support for Children’s Rights into 2025.

    This December, ACORN Honduras did an end-of-year evaluation of their activities and accomplishments in support of rights for children, and spent time connecting with local community centers to expand and deepen their network. Kicking off 2025 right!

  • ACORN Peru Wraps Up 2024 with Solidarity and Support: Soup Kitchens, Art Workshops, and New Partnerships.

    ACORN Peru Wraps Up 2024 with Solidarity and Support: Soup Kitchens, Art Workshops, and New Partnerships.

    In December, ACORN Peru focused on solidarity actions and cultural activities to close the year out strong, including a soup kitchen in Calaralas, art workshops for local students, and building a new relationship with a community in San Jose, who are requesting help negotiating with local authorities.

  • A Community Voice Celebrates Advocacy & Honors Local Leaders at Annual Awardees Dinner and Christmas Party.

    A Community Voice Celebrates Advocacy & Honors Local Leaders at Annual Awardees Dinner and Christmas Party.

    A Community Voice hosted their annual Awardees Dinner and Christmas party, where members of the community were honored for the advocacy to advance the causes of the working people of Louisiana. Honorees included Inez Barnes, Diane Adams, Rev. Richard S Bell Sr, and Louisiana State Representative Matthew Willard.

  • ACORN Canada Celebrates a Year of Victories – People Power Prevails!

    ACORN Canada Celebrates a Year of Victories – People Power Prevails!

    ACORN Canada had a year full of successes, and as December came to a close, many took time out to celebrate the ACORN community and all it has done. ACORN Ottawa hosted a “People Power Party” where over 50 members gathered to honor the hard-fought wins and progress made throughout 2024, including stopping multiple renovictions, launching the Eco-Tenant platform, and forming new tenant unions—so much to celebrate!

  • ACORN Ontario Organizes for Rent Control While Ottawa Tenants Demand Anti-Renoviction Bylaw

    ACORN Ontario Organizes for Rent Control While Ottawa Tenants Demand Anti-Renoviction Bylaw

    ACORN Canada had a busy month, with over 100 ACORN Ontario members organizing critical next steps for full rent control in the face of imminent early elections. Ottawa ACORN amassed over 70 ACORN members and tenants from across the city in front of city hall to show city council how important and urgent an anti-renoviction bylaw is to the tenants in this city! When we fight together, we win!

  • CATU Ireland: Supporting the Fight Against Unfair Evictions – Join the Fundraiser!

    CATU Ireland: Supporting the Fight Against Unfair Evictions – Join the Fundraiser!

    CATU Ireland ended a year of incredible wins by launching a  fundraiser raising money for their tireless advocacy for blocking unfair evictions. As the housing situation in Ireland continues to deteriorate under current leaderships, their work is even more essential. When we band together, we can make protect each other!

  • Locataires Ensemble: Expanding Across France for Affordable, Decent, and Eco-Friendly Housing.

    Locataires Ensemble: Expanding Across France for Affordable, Decent, and Eco-Friendly Housing.

    In 2024, the movement for more affordable, decent, and eco-friendly housing picked up speed. More and more collectives and unions joined the Locataires Ensemble federation: Grenoble, Échirolles, Lyon, Pierre-Bénite, Aubervilliers, Plaisir, Gonesse, Montpellier… In 2025, we will keep fighting to push back against injustices and secure housing that truly meets our rights!