New Delhi – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has informed a New York district court that Indian authorities have failed to act on multiple requests to serve summons and legal complaints to senior executives of the Adani Group, including founder Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, in connection with a high-profile securities fraud and $265 million bribery case. The SEC, which is investigating allegations that the conglomerate bribed Indian officials to secure electricity purchases from its subsidiary Adani Green Energy and then misled U.S. investors about its anti-corruption practices, said its repeated attempts to secure cooperation from India’s Ministry of Law and Justice have gone unanswered.
According to court filings, the SEC’s most recent communication with the ministry took place on September 14, but no confirmation of delivery was received. “The SEC will continue communicating with the India Ministry of Law and Justice and pursuing service of the defendants via the Hague Service Convention,” the regulator said in its filing. The case, which has drawn significant attention in the United States, stems from a 2024 indictment by Brooklyn prosecutors alleging that the Adani Group engaged in systematic bribery of Indian officials to influence power purchase agreements. The SEC claims the company’s executives then provided U.S. investors with misleading statements regarding its compliance and governance standards.
Neither the Indian law and justice ministry nor the Adani Group responded to Reuters’ inquiries. The company has dismissed the SEC’s allegations as “baseless” and pledged to pursue “all possible legal recourse” to have the charges thrown out. In January 2025, Adani Green Energy appointed independent law firms to conduct an internal review of the accusations. The SEC’s court filing underscores growing frustration within the U.S. regulator over India’s lack of response, as it seeks to formally serve legal documents and move forward with proceedings under international protocols. The case has now become a flashpoint in cross-border regulatory cooperation, with Washington pressing New Delhi to act on what American prosecutors describe as a major instance of corporate fraud involving one of India’s most powerful conglomerates.