The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has summoned Indian billionaire Gautam Adani over allegations of bribery, as part of a federal indictment against him, according to a court filing.
The SEC is suing Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, accusing them of paying hundreds of millions in bribes to benefit an Adani company while allegedly misrepresenting compliance with anti-bribery laws during a $750 million bond issuance.
The summons, dated Wednesday in the Eastern District of New York, mandates a response within 21 days. The SEC is seeking monetary penalties and restrictions preventing Gautam and Sagar Adani from serving as officers in publicly listed companies. Representatives of Adani Group did not immediately comment but have previously dismissed the criminal charges as “baseless.”
Adani Group’s CFO clarified that the indictment relates solely to one contract linked to Adani Green Energy, representing about 10% of its operations, and no other group companies are implicated.
Federal prosecutors allege that Gautam Adani and seven other defendants, including Sagar Adani, engaged in a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian officials to secure power supply contracts. These deals were projected to generate $2 billion in profits over 20 years, tied to the development of India’s largest solar power project.
The controversy is the second significant challenge for the Adani Group in two years. The indictment immediately impacted the conglomerate, erasing billions in market value and prompting Kenya’s president to cancel a major airport project with the group.
