Kenyan President William Ruto has canceled two major deals of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani after US prosecutors charged the tycoon with fraud.
In his State of the Nation address on Thursday, Ruto said the deals had been canceled based on “new information provided by our investigative agencies and partner countries”.
A day earlier, Mr. Adani was the second richest man in India. Accused of fraud by US prosecutors An alleged $250m (£198m) bribery scheme to raise money in the US to cover it up.
Adani Group representatives have denied the US prosecutors’ allegations and termed them as “baseless”.
“In the face of undisputed evidence or corroborated information about corruption, I will not hesitate to take decisive action,” Ruto said in a speech that was met with boos inside Parliament.
The Adani Group agreed to invest $1.85bn in exchange for a contract to operate Kenya’s main airport for 30 years, as well as a $736m contract with the Ministry of Energy to build power lines.
Under the airport’s proposal, the upgrade would include a new runway and an improved passenger terminal at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Deals with the Adani group were highly unpopular in the country, and there were concerns of corruption.
The airport deal sparked a strike among airport workers in September, as many feared it would lead to job losses.
Energy Minister Opio Vandai told a parliamentary committee on Thursday that there was no bribery or corruption involved in the purchase of the power lines.
President Ruto has promised to crack down on corruption after repeated allegations against his administration.
Ruto said his government would now start looking for alternative partners for the airport and energy deals.
