London's Science Museum is today facing fresh scrutiny over one of its sponsors, Adani Green Energy—a subsidiary of the Indian conglomerate Adani Group—after charges were brought against the group’s billionaire founder and chairman, Gautam Adani.
According to the Financial Times, Gautam Adani has been charged by US prosecutors over an alleged years-long scheme to bribe Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms on solar power contracts that were projected to bring in more than $2bn in profit. Adani was charged alongside seven others, including executives of Adani energy subsidiaries.
A Science Museum spokesperson said: “We are aware of a case in the US relating to Adani Green Energy and will be monitoring developments in line with our due diligence processes.”
The Science Museum’s Adani Green Energy Gallery, which opened in March this year, highlights how renewable energy can help tackle climate change. The space is sponsored by Adani Green Energy, part of the Adani Group which has ties to coal mining and arms manufacturing.
Culture Unstained, which campaigns against fossil fuel sponsorship in the arts, said in a statement: “Will the Science Museum continue to defend a company whose chair and other senior executives have now been indicted by US prosecutors? Or will it finally admit the mistake it has made and drop this indefensible, polluting sponsor?”
The Science Museum is part of The Science Museum Group (SMG), which also includes the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester and the Railway Museum in York. SMG’s “Group Ethics Policy” (June 2024) reads: “The Science Museum Group will not accept donations, sponsorship or grants where the donor has acted, or believed to have acted, illegally in the acquisition of funds or where there are concerns of fraud, money laundering or other financial crime.”
A spokesperson for Adani Group says: “The allegations made by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of Adani Green are baseless and denied. As stated by the US Department of Justice itself, ‘the charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.’ All possible legal recourse will be sought.
“The Adani Group has always upheld and is steadfastly committed to maintaining the highest standards of governance, transparency and regulatory compliance across all jurisdictions of its operations.”
This fresh controversy follows protests in April, during which climate activists occupied the Science Museum over its sponsorship links with the Adani Group, camping out in the Adani Green Energy Gallery. The campaigners described Adani’s sponsorship of the gallery as allowing the brand to "greenwash" its business, which derives 60% of its revenues from coal—one of the most polluting fossil fuels.