Centre Asks Gujarat Court To Serve US Summons on Gautam Adani: The Hindu
Moneylife Digital Team 13 March 2025
The Union ministry of law and justice in February forwarded a summons from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to a sessions court in Ahmedabad for it to be served on industrialist Gautam Adani at his address in the city, the Union government confirmed to The Hindu.
 
"Under consideration is a request for service of summons received from the central authority US, under the Hague Convention for Service of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters, 1965," the government said in an internal note provided to the newspaper.
 
The letter to the sessions court is dated 25 February 2025, the report says. The Hague Convention allows signatory countries to directly request an agency in each other's countries for assistance in serving legal papers on their residence for cases filed abroad.
 
As reported by Moneylife, last year in November, the SEC summoned Mr Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, alleging their involvement in a US$265mn (million) bribery scheme. The case accuses the Adani executives of using bribes to secure contracts for the 'manufacturing linked projects,' pivotal to their renewable energy ventures, while misleading investors during a 2021 bond offering.
 
According to the SEC, the executives orchestrated bribes amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars to Indian state government officials. These payments secured power supply agreements (PSAs) under unfavourable terms for the states but guaranteed profits for Adani Green Energy Ltd and Azure Power Global Ltd. Specific claims include a US$200mn bribe to Andhra Pradesh officials, which reportedly facilitated a 7,000MW agreement and a bribe worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in Odisha for a 500MW power purchase agreement.
 
According to the SEC complaint Azure Power, another stakeholder in the projects, is accused of collaborating with Adani Green. The SEC alleges that Azure contributed to the bribes by transferring its rights to lucrative portions of the Andhra Pradesh projects to Adani Green. These transactions, the SEC claims, were structured to obscure the financial exchanges tied to the bribes.
 
In 2021, Adani Green raised US$750mn through bond offerings, with US$175mn sourced from US investors. The SEC claims that offering materials, signed by Gautam and Sagar Adani, misrepresented the company's compliance with anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies. The bond documents highlighted Adani Green's adherence to ESG (environmental, social, and governance) principles and anti-corruption standards, which were instrumental in attracting investments from ESG-focused stakeholders. However, the SEC alleges that during this period, the defendants were actively bribing officials, undermining the ethical narrative presented to investors. (Read: Gautam Adani and His Nephew Summoned by US SEC Over $265mn Bribery Allegations
 
According to the report from The Hindu, while the lawsuit led to considerable uncertainty for the Adani Group, the company is reportedly acting on hope that the new administration in the US under president Donald Trump — which has paused all enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, 1977—would lead to less movement in the legal matters against Mr Adani in that country. The Financial Times reported recently that the Adani group has resumed scouting for business opportunities in the US.
 
"It is unclear if the Adani matter was brought up in bilateral discussions between India and the United States. When asked by a reporter during his February trip to Washington if it was, prime minister Narendra Modi responded that such 'personal matters' are not discussed when world leaders meet," the newspaper says.
 
Comments
Jio Also Partners with Elon Musk's SpaceX To Bring Starlink's High-speed Internet Services to India!
Moneylife Digital Team 12 March 2025
Soon after Bharti Airtel Ltd (Airtel) announced a strategic partnership, Reliance group company Jio Platforms Ltd (JPL) also says it signed an agreement with Elon Musk's SpaceX to bring Starlink's high-speed internet services to Jio...
Airtel Partners with Elon Musk's SpaceX To Bring Starlink's High-speed Internet Services in India
Moneylife Digital Team 11 March 2025
Bharti Airtel Ltd (Airtel) has announced a strategic partnership with Elon Musk's SpaceX to bring Starlink's high-speed internet services to its customers in India. This marks the first agreement of its kind to be signed in the...
Vedanta Demerger Faces Setback as NCLT Rejects Talwandi Power’s Scheme
Bar  and  Bench 07 March 2025
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday rejected the scheme of arrangement presented by Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL) in relation to the demerger of Vedanta.
 
A Bench of NCLT comprising  Judicial Member Reeta Kohli...
Business this week
Moneylife Digital Team 07 March 2025
India’s manufacturing sector slowed in February, with the HSBC India manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) declining to 56.3 from 57.7 in January, marking a 14-month low. The decline was driven by softer new orders and...
Free Helpline
Legal Credit
Feedback