NEW DELHI: The ministry of external affairs on Friday said that India had not received any information in advance on the indictment of industrialist Gautam Adani on bribery charges by the US department of Justice. The ministry also clarified that it has not received any summon request or warrant in the case from the US yet.
“India was not informed in advance of the issue. We haven’t had any conversation about this matter with the US government … Any request by a foreign government for the service of a summons/arrest warrant is part of mutual legal assistance,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a press briefing.
The MEA further added that the matter pertains to “private entities” and that New Delhi is not part of the case “at this point in time”.
“We have not received any request on this case from the US side. This a matter which pertains to private entities and Government of India, is not legally a part of it in any manner, at this point in time,” Jaiswal added.
Last week, the US department of justice had filed an indictment in a New York court where it alleged that bribes of over $250 million were made to Indian officials to secure solar power sale contracts, that could bring USD 2 billion in profits over a 20-year period to Adani Group’s AGEL, were disclosed in a filing to the stock exchange. The indictment did not mention Gautam Adani, the founder and chairman of the Adani Group, nor his nephew Sagar or Vneet Jaain in relation to any conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
Adani group calls allegations ‘baseless ‘
The Adani Group firmly denied the allegations as baseless and announced plans to pursue legal action to defend itself.
“Media articles which state that certain of our directors namely Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vineet Jain have been charged with violation(s) of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the indictment. Such statements are incorrect,” the Adani Green Energy said in a statement.
The group in a stock exchange filing said that the indictment document specifies five distinct charges, and notably, neither Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, nor Vneet Jaain are mentioned in relation to any bribery or obstruction of justice allegations. The bribery-related charge specifically identifies executives associated with Azure Power and an investor from Canada.
“Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain have not been charged with any violation of the FCPA in the counts set forth in the indictment of the US DOJ or civil complaint of the US SEC. These directors have been charged on three counts in the criminal indictment, namely (i) alleged securities fraud conspiracy, (ii) alleged wire fraud conspiracy, and (iii) alleged securities fraud,” the filing said.
The indictment caused a storm in the Parliament with the opposition continuing to demand a Joint Parliamentary Committee on the issue.
