By Krishna N. Das
DHAKA (Reuters) – Bangladesh wants to sharply lower prices under a power purchase deal with India’s embattled Adani Group unless it is cancelled by a court, which has called for an investigation into the 25-year deal, its de facto energy minister told Reuters on Sunday.
Adani Group founder Gautam Adani is already facing allegations by U.S. authorities that he was part of a $265 million bribery scheme in India, charges he has denied, even as one Indian state reviews a power deal with the group and France’s TotalEnergies (EPA:) pauses its investments.
In Bangladesh, based on an appeal by a lawyer demanding the power deal’s potential cancellation, the High Court last week ordered a committee of experts to examine the contract under which Adani supplies power from a $2 billion coal-fired plant in eastern India. The investigation is expected to be concluded by February, when the court is due to make its order.
The deal was signed in 2017 by Adani and a government entity under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted this year amid a popular uprising and accusations of widespread corruption. Supply from the 1,600 megawatt plant, which uses expensive imported…
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