It is not within the power of the US Securities and Commission (SEC) to summon Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani in connection with allegations of bribery and fraud worth billions of rupees. This claim has been made in some media reports. It has been said that the summons will have to be sent through proper diplomatic channels. At the same time, this matter related to 8 people including Gautam Adani has now reached the Supreme Court. Advocate Vishal Tiwari has filed a petition in the Supreme Court demanding an investigation into the matter. The petition also alleges flaws in the investigation conducted by market regulator SEBI into the allegations of short seller Hindenburg Research against the Adani Group and concerns have been raised over the credibility of the Securities Exchange Board of India. Petitioner Vishal Tiwari said that the order of the US Justice Department and the complaint of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission have exposed the irregularities of the Adani Group. He said that the allegations are so serious that the matter should also be investigated by Indian agencies in the interest of the country. Advocate Vishal Tiwari has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking an investigation into the allegations leveled by Hindenburg. SEC does not have the right to send summons directly to Adani According to media reports, the US Securities and Commission (SEC) will have to send summons to Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar through proper diplomatic channels, as it is not within its jurisdiction to send summons directly to a foreign citizen. The US SEC has no jurisdiction over foreign citizens and cannot send them anything by post. The 1965 Hague Convention, the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between India and the US governs such matters. Earlier on Saturday, news came that the US SEC had summoned Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani to clarify their stand on the allegations of bribery and fraud against them. According to the news agency, summons have been sent to Adani’s Shantivan Farm House in Ahmedabad and his nephew Sagar’s Bodakdev Residency in the same city to respond to the SEC within 21 days. The notice sent through the New York Eastern District Court states that ‘within 21 days of service of this summons (excluding the day you receive this summons) you must respond to the attached complaint to the plaintiff (SEC) or serve a motion under Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. If you fail to respond, a decision will be taken against Adani for the relief sought in the complaint. The reply will have to be filed in the court. This case was registered in the Federal Court of New York on 24 October 2024
In fact, on November 21, the United States Attorney’s Office said that Adani had given or was planning to give a bribe of $ 265 million (about Rs 2200 crore) to Indian officials to get a contract related to solar energy in India. This whole matter is related to Adani Group company Adani Green Energy Limited and another firm. This case was registered in the Federal Court of New York on 24 October 2024. In its hearing on Wednesday, November 20, Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, Vineet S Jain, Ranjit Gupta, Cyril Cabanis, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra and Rupesh Agarwal have been made accused. According to a Reuters report, an arrest warrant has also been issued against Gautam Adani and Sagar. Sagar is an officer of Adani Green Energy Limited. Understand, what is the whole case of manipulation and bribery…
According to the filing of the US Justice Department, Solar Energy Corporation of India i.e. SECI had issued a contract for the supply of 12 gigawatts of energy in the country. SECI is a renewable energy company of the Government of India, which aims to increase the use of solar energy in the country. Between December 2019 and July 2020, Adani Green Energy Limited i.e. AGEL and a foreign firm won the contract. They were issued a Letter of Award (LOA). Here a problem arose. SECI was not getting customers for the electricity purchased from AGEL and foreign firms. In such a situation, he would not be able to buy electricity from AGEL and the foreign firm. This would cause losses to Adani’s company and the foreign firm. According to the charge sheet, Gautam Adani, along with his nephew Sagar Adani, Vineet Jain and 7 other people, hatched a conspiracy to bribe the officials. So that the state governments enter into a power sale agreement with SECI and their solar power agreement gets a buyer. According to the charge sheet, ‘Gautam Adani met a senior official of Andhra Pradesh several times between 7 August 2021 and 20 November 2021. So that a solar power agreement could be signed between Andhra Pradesh Electricity Distribution Company (APEPDCL) and SECI.’ After this, an agreement was signed between APEPDCL and SECI. AGEL and the foreign firm got the contract. After this, the State Electricity Distribution Boards of Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Jammu and Kashmir signed contracts for purchasing electricity. Two official documents have been issued in this entire case… 1. Indictment filed by US prosecutors in the clerk’s office of the Eastern District Court of New York. There is no mention of arrest warrant in this. 2. Press release issued by the US Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York. There is also no mention of arrest warrant against Gautam Adani in this. At the same time, American news agency Reuters wrote in a report dated November 21, ‘According to court records, a judge has issued arrest warrants for Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani. Prosecutors have prepared to hand over these warrants to foreign law enforcement. Adani Group has called all the allegations baseless. Adani Group has called all the allegations baseless. Issuing a statement on November 21, the group had said- ‘The allegations leveled by the United States Department of Justice and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission against the directors of Adani Green Energy Limited are baseless. We deny them. The US Justice Department itself said that these are just allegations right now. The accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Sagar Adani manages the energy business
Gautam Adani’s nephew, Sagar has an economics degree from Brown University US. Sagar joined the Adani Group in 2015. Sagar manages the group’s energy business and finance. He focuses on renewable energy business and plans to make the company the world’s largest renewable energy producer by 2030. Adani Green Energy has a clean energy portfolio of over 20 gigawatts Adani Green Energy Limited has a clean energy portfolio of over 20 gigawatts, including one of the world’s largest solar power plants in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The Adani Group aims to become the country’s largest company in this sector by 2030. The company’s market cap is Rs 1.85 lakh crore. Vishal Tiwari has filed a petition earlier also
Earlier, Vishal Tiwari had filed a petition in the Supreme Court to investigate the allegations made by Hindenburg. That case was of January 2023. Gautam Adani’s flagship company Adani Enterprises announced to bring a follow-on public offer of Rs 20,000 crore. This offer was to open on 27 January 2023, but just before that on 24 January 2023, Hindenburg Research released a report, in which allegations ranging from money laundering to share manipulation were made against the Adani Group. By January 25, the market value of the group’s shares decreased by about $ 12 billion (about Rs 1 lakh crore). However, Adani denied the allegations of any wrongdoing. In such a situation, Adani Group also cancelled its follow-on public offer of Rs 20,000 crore. The Supreme Court formed a 6-member committee to investigate the case and SEBI also investigated the matter. After the court’s decision, Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani had said, ‘The court’s decision shows that truth has won. Satyameva Jayate. I am grateful to those who stood with us. Our contribution to India’s growth story will continue. Jai Hind.’
