Trouble for Gautam Adani? Modi Govt Forwards SEC Summons to Ahmedabad Court

The Ministry of Law and Justice under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has taken steps to officially serve a US summons notice to Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani. The notice is part of a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) case against the billionaire over bribery allegations. 

Earlier, the SEC sought the law ministry's assistance to serve the summons under the Hague Service Convention for Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters. The 1965 Convention allows countries to request legal assistance in serving documents for cases filed abroad. 

Now, according to The Hindu, the Department of Legal Affairs (DLA) under the law ministry has forwarded the summons to a sessions court in Ahmedabad, directing it to serve Gautam Adani.  The report, citing internal emails, states that the DLA sent the summons request to the Sessions Court in Ahmedabad on February 25, after verifying the documents. 

In November last year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and other executives of Adani Green Ltd. The lawsuit alleges that they concealed hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes paid to India state government officials to secure energy purchase agreements at inflated rates, benefiting Adani Green and Azure Power, a US-based solar energy firm. 

In a separate criminal case, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York has charged them with conspiracy and securities fraud, among other offences. 

The cases are being heard in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. 

Case Against Adanis in Limbo 

However, last month, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977 for at least 180 days, pending a review by the new US Attorney General.  Despite this, the SEC recently made a fresh court filing, suggesting that the executive order does not apply retroactively. This means the SEC’s investigation into the Adani Group is likely to continue unless the law itself is changed.   

During his recent trip to Washington, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he did not discuss the Adani case with Donald Trump, calling it an “individual issue.”