Guwahati: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) informed the New York Eastern District Court that it has been unable to serve summons to Gautam Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, in India.
The SEC stated in a court filing that it has repeatedly requested assistance from India’s Ministry of Law & Justice to deliver the summons and complaint, as outlined by an international treaty known as the Hague Service Convention. However, after six months, the documents have still not been delivered.
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The filing states: “The SEC has also sent Notices of Lawsuit and Requests for Waiver of Service of Summons, including copies of the Complaint, directly to Defendants and their counsel, and the SEC has communicated with the India MoLJ. The SEC understands that those authorities have not yet effected service
The SEC filed its initial complaint against Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani on November 20, 2024. The complaint alleges that the defendants violated federal securities laws by making false and misleading statements about Adani Green Energy Ltd. in connection with a September 2021 debt offering.
The SEC’s latest filing reiterated its ongoing efforts to serve the Adani Group and its promoters in India. The commission has not only contacted India’s Ministry of Law & Justice but has also directly sent notices of the lawsuit and requests for a waiver of service to the defendants and their legal counsel.
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The SEC said it will “continue communicating with the India MoLJ and pursue service of the Defendants via the Hague Service Convention.”
The SEC’s indictment, filed in November 2024, charged Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and others with bribery, securities fraud, wire fraud, and related conspiracies. The SEC alleges that the defendants paid bribes totaling Rs. 2,029 crore to secure solar power deals with several Indian states.
According to court documents, the bribery scheme was allegedly devised after the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) was unable to find state power companies willing to purchase electricity at a specified price.
The SEC claims that Adani and Azure Power (an Adani-linked company) colluded to offer bribes to Indian government officials. The bribes were allegedly meant to persuade state governments to enter into agreements with SECI.
The indictment states that Rs. 1,750 crore in bribes was offered to officials in Andhra Pradesh and other states between 2019 and 2020. The Adani Group also allegedly held meetings with government officials from various states, including Maharashtra, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, to help SECI secure these deals.
In March 2023, Sagar Adani was served with a grand jury subpoena in the U.S., and FBI officials seized his electronic devices under a search warrant.