Kenyan President William Ruto has canceled two major deals involving Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, after the tycoon was indicted on fraud charges by US prosecutors.
In his state of the nation address on Thursday, Ruto said the deals were canceled based on “new information provided by our investigative agencies and partner countries”.
The day before, Mr Adani, India's second richest man, had been charged with fraud by US prosecutors for allegedly masterminding a $250m (£198m) bribery scheme and carrying it concealed to raise funds in the United States.
Representatives of the Adani Group have denied the allegations by US prosecutors and called them “baseless”.
“Faced with undisputed evidence or credible information about corruption, I will not hesitate to take decisive action,” Ruto said in a speech greeted by loud cheers in Parliament.
The Adani Group was to invest $1.85 billion in Kenya's main airport in exchange for a 30-year operating contract, as well as a $736 million deal with the energy ministry for the construction of power lines.
According to the airport proposal, the improvements would involve a new runway and an upgraded passenger terminal at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
The deals with the Adani group were extremely unpopular in the country and there were fears of corruption.
The airport deal sparked a strike among airport workers in September, with many fearing it would lead to job losses.
Energy Minister Opiyo Wandayi told a parliamentary committee on Thursday that there had been no bribery or corruption in the procurement of the power lines.
President Ruto has vowed to take action against corruption, following repeated allegations against his administration.
Ruto said his government would now start looking for alternative partners for airport and energy deals.
