'World Leaders Don't Discuss Personal Matters': Modi on Adani Bribery Case in US

Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that leaders of two countries neither meet nor discuss such personal matters when asked if he had discussed with US President Donald Trump the bribery charges filed by the US Department of Justice against industrialist Gautam Adani. The query was raised during a high profile press conference after the leaders of the two countries met.

As the response to the question, the prime minister dismissed the idea that Adani's case is a topic of discussion for such high-level meetings. He said, "First of all, India is a democratic country and our culture is 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam'. We treat the world as a family, and I treat every Indian as one of my own. Secondly, leaders of two countries neither meet nor discuss such personal matters."

According to the charges filed in the US Department of Justice last year under the Joe Biden's administration, Adani, along with his nephew Sagar Adani and other senior Adani Green executives, has been involved in a bribery scheme of more than $250mn offered to Indian officials in return of getting solar power contracts. The investigation claimed that Adani withheld the information regarding these transactions from the US banks and investors who have invested billions of dollar in Adani Group.

The indictment stated that in 2021, Adani Green bribed government officials in the states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh and possibly in Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), to get power distribution companies to agree to buying solar power at above market rates. The parties in power at that time included Biju Janata Dal, YSR Congress, DMK and Congress. J&K was under Centre's rule at that time.

Adani Group denied all the allegations and said the company is fully compliant with the proceedings of the case.

However, things changed after Trump took charge. He signed an executive order pausing the enforcement of a federal law, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) under which Adani has been accused of bribery. FCPA makes it a crime for American companies to bribe foreign officials. While signing the order, Trump said the law makes American companies disadvantageous on the global stage.

“US companies are harmed by FCPA overenforcement because they are prohibited from engaging in practices common among international competitors, creating an uneven playing field,” said the fact sheet on the order. Moreover, he ordered newly confirmed Attorney General Pam Bondi to immediately halt actions taken under the law.