Gautam Adani has hired top US lawyer Robert Giuffra Jr of Sullivan & Cromwell to defend him in the SEC’s fraud case.
The SEC case runs parallel to a US DoJ criminal investigation over alleged bribery linked to solar power contracts.
The move comes as the SEC sought court approval to serve summons to Adani and his nephew via email route after repeated attempts through Indian authorities failed.
Business tycoon Gautam Adani has hired a top US lawyer to fight for him against the millions-of-dollars worth of fraud allegations by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Adani has hired Robert Giuffra Jr to be his lawyer in the civil lawsuit, Bloomberg reported citing court filings.
Giuffra, a senior lawyer at top law firm Sullivan & Cromwell who handles major financial cases, is also helping President Donald Trump in his effort to overturn his criminal conviction.
1 January 2026
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This comes after Adani earlier hired Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP as his counsel for the case, according to previous report by multiple portals.
What is the SEC-Adani Case?
The SEC lawsuit is parallelly linked to the 2024 case filed by US Department of Justice (DoJ) against Adani, his nephew, Sagar and others over the alleged payment of over $250 million to Indian government officials in exchange of favourable terms on solar power contractrs awarded to Adani Green Energey and Azure power Global, a New Delhi-headquartered firm. The Federal prosecutors indicted a total of eight individuals for allegedly paying the bribes between 2020 and 2024.
Point to note: Sagar Adani has reportedly hired Hecker Fink LLP as his legal counsel.
Following this, the SEC alleged that Adani and his nephew Sagar violated US securities law by making false and misleading representations about Adani Green Energy. They raised about $2 billion from American and foreign investors using false and misleading statements about its anti-bribery and anti-corruption practices, the SEC had alleged.
For this reason, the US DoJ opened a criminal investigation, while the SEC is pursuing a civil investigation against Adani, Sagar and the then Adani Green Energy CEO Vneet Jaain.
Who is Robert Giuffra?
Notably, Adani hired the top lawyer a week after the SEC had asked a federal court for permission to send legal notices to Adani and his nephew through the email route via their US-based lawyers.
Giuffra is one of the most senior lawyers at the prestigious US law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, where he serves as Co-Chair and is part of the firm’s top management. He specialises in high-risk legal battles that can decide the future of large companies, including cases related to securities fraud, financial crimes, business disputes, and major regulatory investigations.
With more than 25 years of experience, Giuffra has defended some of the world’s biggest companies and high-profile individuals in complex civil and criminal cases, according to the law firm's website. He has argued cases in US federal and state courts, represented clients before regulators like the US Justice Department and the SEC, and handled sensitive investigations involving multiple government agencies.
Over the years, he has worked for leading global banks such as Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, HSBC and Morgan Stanley, along with major corporations including Boeing, Philips, Porsche, UnitedHealth Group and Ericsson. He has also represented governments, sports organisations, and senior executives, making him a go-to lawyer for high-stakes and high-profile legal disputes.
US Regulator's Bypass Route
To formally notify the Adanis of the civil case, US law requires summons and complaints to be served personally. The SEC initially sought help under the Hague Convention, an international treaty that allows legal documents to be served across borders through designated government authorities. In India, this role is handled by the Department of Legal Affairs under the Ministry of Law and Justice.
However, the SEC told the court that India’s law ministry rejected its request twice over the past 14 months. According to the regulator, its first request sent in February 2025 was returned in April that year due to the absence of a signature or official seal, according to an earlier report by Reuters.
The SEC had said it clarified that such formalities are not required under the Hague Convention, but the request was again returned in December 2025, with the ministry stating that the SEC’s own rules did not cover the summons in this case, the report said citing official filings.
In the same filing, SEC lawyer Christopher M. Colorado argued that alternative service methods should be allowed because both Gautam and Sagar Adani are already fully aware of the case. He pointed out that Gautam Adani has spoken publicly about the matter, including at the Adani Group’s annual general meeting in June 2025.
The filing also noted that both men had hired prominent US law firms that have been actively communicating with the SEC. Serving summons through these lawyers and via email would meet due process requirements, the SEC had reportedly argued.
