Gautam Adani, His Nephew & Vneet Jaain Not Charged In Bribery Case: Former Attorney General Of India Defends Billionaire

New Delhi: The Adani Group on Wednesday strongly dismissed allegations of bribery and violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) against its chairman Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and key executive Vneet Jaain in connection to a case filed by the US Department of Justice (DOJ).

Dismissing the recent claims of ‘indictment’ as ‘incorrect’, the company claimed that Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and Vneet Jaain had not been charged under the FCPA. Adani Green Energy Ltd, a sister concern of the Group, claimed this in a stock exchange filling.

The company added that the three individuals face charges related to alleged securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and securities fraud. All of these carry potential monetary penalties. The filing, however, clarified that the indictment does not specify any quantum of fines or penalties. The indictment accuses the executives of participating in a scheme to pay USD 265 million in bribes to Indian officials to secure solar electricity contracts.

‘Vague allegations make it impossible to respond meaningfully …’

Former attorney general of India Mukul Rohatgi along with Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani said the allegations against the Adanis lack credible evidence and specifics, while addressing media. “I have gone through this indictment by the US court. My assessment is that there are five charges or five counts. It is important to note that counts one and five are more important than the others, but neither in Count 1 nor in Count 5 is Mr Adani or his nephew charged,” Mukul Rohatgi said.

According to Rohatgi the charges were primarily against certain other individuals, not the Adani executives. “Such vague allegations make it impossible to respond meaningfully,” he added. However, Rohtagi maintained that these were his personal legal views and he was not a spokesperson for the Adani Group. “I am a lawyer and have been appearing for the Adani Group in several cases,” he added.

“Count number 1 of the indictment is against certain other persons minus the two Adanis. It includes some of their officers and one foreign person…The first allegation is that there is a conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act framed by the US Parliament. In that, the Adanis are not named, their officers may be named,” Rohtagi said.

Mukul Rohtagi, former Attorney General of India

‘Who has been bribed..in what manner…?’

“There are two or three other counts relating to securities and bonds. In those three counts, the Adanis and others are named…This is a charge sheet alleging that these people, including Adanis, have bribed Indian officials in Indian entities relating to the supply and purchase of power, but I do not find a single name or a single detail in the charge sheet as to who has been bribed, in what manner has he been bribed and the official belongs to such and such department. This charge sheet is completely silent, so I don’t know how one can respond to this kind of charge sheets…” he clarified.

‘Did Gautam Adani’s appreciation of Trump lead to the scrutiny?’

Mahesh Jethmalani slammed the Opposition parties for politicising the issue. “This is clearly a political tool. Having suffered a setback in the Maharashtra elections, the Congress and the INDI Alliance are using this to divert attention,” he said. Jethmalani also raised questions regarding the timing and intent of the DOJ’s actions. “The DOJ is acting with unseemly haste. The indictment appears rushed and lacks substance. This has the markings of a political hatchet job,” he added. Jethmalani raised doubts as to whether Gautam Adani’s act of congratulating Donald Trump on his electoral success might have drawn ‘unwarranted scrutiny.’

‘This is a conspiracy to stop India’s growth story’

“This is a conspiracy to stop India’s growth story. You are repeatedly going after one corporate group, trying to embarrass the Prime Minister… he is an industrialist who has executed many infrastructure projects successfully in India and abroad of which you should be proud,” said Jethmalani, while condemning Congress, as quoted by NDTV.

He cautioned the media to not rush to condemn Adani blindly following a US indictment. “You are behaving like local agents of a foreign power that has an interest in stopping India’s economic growth. Indirectly, you affect retail investors,” he added.

He also insisted that there was no need for an inquiry by any authority in India or a Joint Parliamentary Committee unless the Congress puts out “credible evidence” in the public domain against the Adani Group. “Please put out evidence, you only want to create some kind of noise and disrupt Parliament. This is completely unwarranted,” he said, referring to the Congress.

Why is Adani not in jail: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said businessman Gautam Adani should be arrested after his indictment. The Leader of the Opposition accused the government of protecting Adani. Gandhi said when hundreds of people are arrested on ‘tiny’ charges in the country, why is Adani not in jail? He asked this while speaking to reporters outside the Parliament.