Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of the Adani Group, along with his nephew Sagar, has been summoned to address allegations by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of paying $265 million (Rs 2,200 crore) in bribes to secure profitable solar power contracts.
Adani’s Shantivan Farm residence in Ahmedabad and his nephew Sagar’s Bodakdev home in the same city have received summons to respond to SEC within 21 days.
A notice sent through the New York Eastern District Court on November 21 stated that “you must serve on the plaintiff (SEC) an answer to the attached complaint or a motion under Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure within 21 days after service of this summons on you (not counting the day you received it).”
“If you fail to respond, judgment by default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint. You also must file your answer or motion with the court,” it added.
According to an indictment unsealed in a New York court on Wednesday, Gautam Adani, 62 and seven other defendants, including his nephew Sagar, a director at the group’s renewable energy unit Adani Green Energy Ltd, allegedly agreed to pay around $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials between 2020 and 2024 in order to obtain profitable solar energy supply contracts on terms that were expected to generate $2 billion in profit over 20 years.
However, the ports-to-energy group has refuted the charges and stated that it will pursue all available legal options.
“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. We assure our stakeholders, partners and employees that we are a law-abiding organisation fully compliant with all laws,” said a spokesperson.
The US SEC additionally charged the two and Azure Power Global Executive Cyril Cabanes for “conduct arising out of a massive bribery scheme” in addition to the indictment filed by the US Department of Justice.
In the US, an indictment is essentially a formal written allegation against a party charged with a crime that comes from a prosecutor and is issued by a grand jury. A charged individual is formally given notice to respond.
A defence lawyer can then be hired by that individual or individuals to defend them. Prosecutors claimed the probe began in 2022 and discovered that the investigation was obstructed.
Additionally, they claim that false and deceptive representations about the company’s anti-bribery rules and practices, together with accounts of the bribery investigation, helped the Adani Group gather $2 billion in loans and bonds, including from US-based businesses.
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