Adani indictment is a ‘legal matter’ between pvt entities and US:MEA
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi hasn’t had “any conversation also on this particular matter with the US government
NEW DELHI: India on Friday said the indictment of Indian tycoon Gautam Adani by US prosecutors is a “legal matter” involving private entities and individuals and the US Department of Justice, and the Indian side has not yet received any official request for cooperation.
The comments by external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal were the first official response from New Delhi since US federal prosecutors charged Adani with multiple counts of wire and securities fraud in New York. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a parallel case charging his associates with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
“We see this as a legal matter involving private firms and individuals and the US Department of Justice. Obviously, there are established procedures and legal avenues in such cases which we believe would be followed,” Jaiswal said in response to several questions at a regular media briefing.
Jaiswal made it clear the Indian government currently has no role in legal proceedings involving Adani-linked entities in the US.
“The government of India, so far, we have not been informed in advance on the issue. We haven’t had any conversation also on this particular matter with the US government,” he said, responding to queries on whether the American side had kept India in the loop on the matter.
US authorities are required to notify India’s home ministry for any legal action within India, including the execution of an arrest warrant. The home ministry can then direct central agencies to act on the request. Jaiswal said any such request from the US side will be “examined on merits”.
“I would like to inform you that...any request by a foreign government for service of summons or arrest warrant is part of mutual legal assistance. But such requests are examined on merits. We have not received any request on this case from the US side,” he said.
“This is a matter which pertains to a private individual and private entities...Legally, we [the government of India] are not part of it in any manner at this point in time,” he said. “We see it as a case between the US department of justice and private individuals and entities.”
The indictment in the US includes allegations of bribery to secure solar energy contracts in India and misleading American investors through fraudulent financial disclosures.
The Adani Group has dismissed the charges as “baseless” and said it will tackle the matter through legal means. The Adani Group has also refuted the bribery allegations by the US Department of Justice and SEC against its chairman, Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and the MD and CEO of Adani Green Energy, Vneet Jaain.
Adani Green Energy Ltd said in an exchange filing on November 27 that the reported charges against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Jaain, as outlined by the US department of justice, are “incorrect”.