‘Legal matters involving private companies and US Department of Justice, India did not receive any request’

Days after U.S. prosecutors charged industrialist Gautam Adani and some others with bribery and fraud, India said Friday that it is a legal matter involving private companies and certain individuals and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Indian government was not informed about the issue in advance.

“This is a legal matter involving private companies and individuals and the United States Department of Justice. There are established procedures and legal avenues in such cases, which we believe will be followed,” he said.

Jaiswal was responding to a question on the charges leveled against Adani and others during his weekly press conference.

When asked if the United States had served a subpoena or court order in the Adani case, he said India had not received any such request.

“Any request from a foreign government for service of a subpoena or arrest warrant is part of mutual legal assistance. Such requests are examined on merits,” Jaiswal said.

“We have not received any request regarding this case from the United States,” he said.

READ ALSO | Adani group faces no immediate action from investors after US allegation: CRISIL

Adani Group says Gautam Adani has not been charged under the FCPA or other bribery-related crimes

Embattled billionaire Gautam Adani and his aides have not been charged under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, an Adani Group entity said on Wednesday, adding that they face three other charges, including fraud of securities and electronic transfers, which are punishable by monetary fines.

The US DOJ indictment filed in a New York court last week does not name Gautam Adani, founding chairman of the ports-to-energy conglomerate, or his nephew Sagar, nor Vneet Jaain in any charge related to conspiracy to violate the FCPA, Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), said in a filing to the stock exchange.

AGEL is at the center of allegations that bribes of $265 million were paid to Indian officials to secure solar sales contracts that could generate $2 billion in profits for the company over a 20-year period.

The three, AGEL executives, have only been charged with securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy and securities fraud, the company said. In general, the penalties for such charges are less severe than those for bribery.

Gautam and Sagar also face a civil suit for violating sections of the Securities Act and for aiding and abetting Adani Green in violating the Act, the company said.

Adani Group had last week denied all allegations as baseless and said it would seek legal recourse to defend itself.

The FCPA makes it a crime for a company or person with ties to the United States (such as a publicly traded company, US investors, or a joint venture) to pay or offer anything of value to officials of another government in exchange for favorable treatment. While none of the Adani group companies trade in the United States, some of them, such as AGEL, have American investors invested in equity or debt.

“Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain have not been accused of any violation of the FCPA in the charges set forth in the US Department of Justice indictment or the US SEC civil lawsuit.

“These directors have been charged with three counts in the criminal indictment, namely, alleged securities fraud conspiracy, alleged wire fraud conspiracy, and alleged securities fraud,” he said.

The United States Department of Justice and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a criminal indictment and filed a civil lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York against Gautam Adani , Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain.

“The indictment does not specify the amount of any fine/penalty,” the company said.

Former Attorney General and Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi backed the Adani Group’s claims saying that in their assessment there are five counts or counts and that Adani and his aides have not been charged under count 1 or 5 which refer to allegations of ” conspiracy to violate the FCPA” and “conspiracy to obstruct justice”, respectively.

Adani and his aides have been indicted on other charges related to securities and bonds.

He said the indictment – equivalent to a charge sheet filed in an Indian court – does not name a single person to whom a bribe was paid.

Senior Supreme Court lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani also said there is no crime in the charge against Adanis or AGEL.

Both lawyers are part of Adani’s defense team.

AGEL in the filing said the civil suit alleges that the executives violated certain sections of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Act of 1934, and that they aided and abetted AGEL in violating the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Act. 1934 values.

“Although the lawsuit requests an order directing the defendants to pay civil monetary penalties, it does not quantify the amount of the penalty,” he added.

The Department of Justice has alleged that between 2020 and 2024, senior executives at Adani Green, Azure Power and CDPQ (Caisse de dépôt et place du Québec, a Canadian institutional investor and Azure’s largest shareholder) participated in a scheme to bribe officials. of the Indian government to ensure implementation. of lucrative solar energy supply contracts with Indian government entities.

During the same period, senior Adani Green executives conspired to misrepresent the company’s anti-bribery practices (to US-based investors and international financial institutions) and conceal from those investors and institutions their bribery of Indian government officials to obtain thousands of millions of dollars in financing. for green energy projects, including corrupt solar energy supply contracts.

Additionally, top executives at Azure Power and CDPQ conspired to obstruct U.S. government investigations into the bribery scheme.

Those accused in the first charge are Ranjit Gupta, Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra and Rupesh Agarwal. The accused in count 5 are Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra and Rupesh Agarwal.

Adani Group companies have lost around $54 billion in market capitalization since the US indictment.

Additionally, international credit rating agencies, including Moody’s and Fitch, have downgraded the outlook of several Adani companies. These downgrades are based on expected increases in capital costs and weakened access to financing due to legal challenges.

Another consequence was that AGEL canceled a debt of 600 million dollars obtained through green bonds despite having been subscribed more than three times.

The Justice Department indictment appeared exactly the day AGEL launched its bonds.

French oil company TotalEnergies, which has investments in AGEL and Adani Total Gas, has stopped new investments in Adani companies.

The US International Development Finance Corporation has announced that it is reviewing its $550 million port development loan to the Adani-led consortium developing CWIT, a container terminal at the port of Colombo. The agency said it is evaluating the implications of the allegations on the integrity and compliance of the project.

Investment firm GQG Partners, which invested in Adani Group companies when they were hit following damning fraud allegations leveled by Hindenburg Research, has seen a drop in the value of its stake in the conglomerate.

US investment bank Jefferies, a major supporter of the Adani Group, is reconsidering its relationship following the allegations. This reassessment reflects concerns about reputational risks and compliance issues.

(This report has been published as part of the automatically generated union feed. Other than the headline, ABP Live has not made any edits to the copy.)