SEBI In Dock As Bribery Case Involving Gautam Adani, His Officials Reaches Supreme Court

New Delhi: A fresh application was filed before the Supreme Court on Sunday urging the apex court to take on record the charges of bribery and fraud levelled against Gautam Adani and his seven associates by the US authorities.

The petition claimed that there were shortcomings in the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi) investigation into Hindenburg Research’s allegations against the Adani Group. It also raised concerns over the market regulator’s credibility.

“Despite the deadline given by the Honourable Supreme Court in its order dated January 3, 2024, Sebi has not filed any report or conclusions of the investigations till now. In the present scenario, when the investigation report is not brought on record, it reduces confidence in the regulatory authority Sebi,” the application states.

Recently, Sebi launched an inquiry into US allegations that Adani Green Energy, a sister concern of the Adani Group, failed to disclose a probe into the alleged bribery scheme. Sebi is reportedly awaiting detailed reports from Indian stock exchanges before deciding to initiate a formal investigation into the matter.

Adani and his seven executives, including his nephew Sagar Adani, were indicted recently in a New York court on charges of being involved in a $265 million bribery scheme to secure lucrative solar energy contracts in India. The US prosecutors had alleged that bribes were offered to Indian officials to generate $2 billion in profits over 20 years.

According to reports, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed separate charges against the Adani Group and Azure Power Global executive Cyril Cabanes, accusing them of issuing false statements to secure $2 billion in loans and bonds.

The Adani Group has denied all allegations.

In August, Hindenburg had accused Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch of having connections with offshore funds, used by the conglomerate. The short-seller has levelled such allegations citing whistleblower documents. They also claimed that Buch had a conflict of interest in the Adani matter due to her old investments. Both Buch and Adani Group had denied such allegations.