Staff Reporter :
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a summons to Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, following bribery allegations related to a major federal indictment against him.
A court filing revealed that the SEC is suing Adani, the head of the Adani Group, and his nephew Sagar Adani, accusing them of engaging in bribes amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars to benefit an Adani company.
The charges also claim that the pair falsely represented the company’s compliance with anti-bribery laws in connection with a $750 million bond offering.
The summons requires a response within 21 days, as outlined in the filing submitted Wednesday in federal court in the Eastern District of New York.
The SEC’s lawsuit seeks unspecified financial penalties and restrictions preventing the Adanis from serving as officers of publicly listed companies.
Adani Group representatives did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on Sunday. The group has denied the criminal charges, calling them “baseless.”
The group’s CFO clarified that the indictment is related to a single contract with Adani Green Energy, which constitutes approximately 10% of its business, and no other firms within the conglomerate are accused of wrongdoing.
Federal prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for both Gautam and Sagar Adani, alleging their involvement in a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian officials to secure power supply contracts.
The authorities claim the Adanis, along with seven other defendants, agreed to bribe Indian government officials to obtain contracts expected to generate $2 billion in profits over 20 years and to develop India’s largest solar power plant project.
This crisis marks the second in two years to affect the Adani Group, the conglomerate founded by 62-year-old Gautam Adani, one of the world’s wealthiest individuals.
The fallout from the allegations has been immediate, with billions of dollars wiped off the market value of Adani Group companies, and Kenya’s president canceling a significant airport project with the group.
