New Delhi: India stated on Friday that the allegations of securities and wire fraud against Indian billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani are a legal matter between private firms and the US government, adding that no request for summons has been received from the US so far.
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York indicted Gautam Adani over his alleged role in what they have called a “massive bribery scheme” amounting to $250 million involving Indian government officials. The Adani Group has called the charges “baseless” and denied them.
A New York district judge issued summons for Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani on November 21 to respond to the charges made by SEC in 21 days. They were addressed to their addresses in Ahmedabad.
Commenting officially for the first time, the Union Ministry of External Affairs indicated that there was no basis for New Delhi’s intervention at this stage.
“This is a legal matter involving private firms and individuals and the US Department of Justice. There are established procedures and legal avenues in such cases which we believe would be followed,” said the MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during the weekly briefing on Friday (November 29). He noted that the Indian government was “not informed in advance on the issue”.
Regarding the reports about summons for Adani, he said, “Any request by a foreign government for service of summons/arrest warrant is part of mutual legal assistance. Such requests are examined on merits. We have not received any request on this case from the US side”.
The opposition has been demanding a discussion on the bribery allegations against Adani during the ongoing parliamentary session, but these demands have been denied, resulting in repeated disruptions.
