New Delhi: India has not received any request from the US to serve summons or issue arrest warrants against Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani and his executives in the alleged bribery case, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Friday.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the indictment by the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was a “legal matter involving private firms and individuals and the US Department of Justice”.
Jaiswal added: “There are established procedures and legal avenues in such cases which we believe would be followed. The Government of India was not informed in advance on the issue.”
At the weekly press briefing, the spokesperson said any request by a foreign government for the service of summons or an arrest warrant was part of “mutual legal assistance” and that such requests were examined on merits when received.
This is the first reaction by the MEA on the US indictments against Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and other executives, over allegations of bribery.
Last week, a US court indicted Adani Group officers and those of the renewable energy firm, Azure Power Global Limited, for allegedly promising bribes worth Rs 2,029 crore to Indian government officials in order to bag solar energy contracts.
The indictment saw the Kenyan government cancel contracts worth $3 billion with the Indian conglomerate, while its projects in Sri Lanka, including the Colombo West Container Terminal, came under greater scrutiny. The Colombo project was to receive $553 million from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
In a statement to ThePrint, the DFC said it was assessing the ramifications of the indictment on its investment in the Colombo port expansion. The loan agreement between the DFC and the consortium behind the Colombo port project, which includes the Adani Group, has not been signed yet.
The Adani Group has categorically denied US allegations. Earlier this week, the firm further clarified that Gautam, Sagar Adani and senior executive Vneet S Jaain were not charged under the US’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)— specifically for those related to corruption and bribery.
The indictment saw the conglomerate lose nearly $55 billion in market cap across 11 of its listed firms. However, in the last few days, the firm’s stocks began to rally following continued support from some of its backers, including Japanese banks.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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