Washington: The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s fraud case against Gautam Adani on Friday cleared a procedural hurdle that had for months stalled the lawsuit against the Indian billionaire.
Robert Giuffra Jr., co-chair of white-shoe law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, told a federal judge that he reached an agreement to accept the lawsuit on Adani’s behalf. Court filings also showed that US-based lawyers agreed to accept formal notification of the lawsuit on Sagar Adani, who was also sued by the SEC in November 2024.
The SEC’s lawsuit, filed in November 2024, alleges that Gautam and his nephew Sagar violated US securities laws by making false and misleading representations about Adani Green Energy Ltd. In addition to the SEC’s civil complaint, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York, charged the Adanis and others with allegedly helping drive a $250 million bribery scheme in India to lock in solar-power contracts.
Both the criminal and SEC case have been stalled with both Adanis in India. The SEC last week asked a judge to let it use alternative measures to formally notify the Adanis of the lawsuit. The regulator asked permission to use email and serve papers on other US law firms representing the Adanis in the criminal case.
The SEC had previously said it was rebuffed in India with attempts to formally serve the Adanis with the lawsuit. Generally, litigation can’t proceed in the US until the defendants have been properly notified of a complaint.
Gautam Adani chairs the Adani Group conglomerate and Sagar Adani is executive director at Adani Green Energy. Neither the conglomerate nor its corporate units were sued by the SEC.
In a statement, the Adani Group said the filing “is a standard procedural step in the United States’ legal process towards commencement of resolution of the matter.”
Wall Street Lawyer
“We reiterate that Adani Green Energy Limited is not a party to these proceedings, and no charges have been brought against it,” the company said in the statement about the SEC case. “Furthermore, the Defendants have not been charged with any violations of bribery or corruption laws. The SEC proceedings are entirely civil in nature.”
Giuffra declined comment, while lawyers for Sagar Adani didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. The SEC also didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Giuffra, who is representing Gautam Adani in the SEC’s case, is a former law clerk to William Rehnquist while he was chief justice of the US Supreme Court. He joined Sullivan & Cromwell in 1989. For more than 25 years, he has represented a roster of prominent clients, including Volkswagen AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Giuffra last year began representing President Donald Trump in his attempt to overturn his 2024 criminal case where a Manhattan jury found him guilty of falsifying business records to cover up payments to an adult film star. He is also representing Trump in his bid to have that state case moved to federal court.
This report is auto-generated from Bloomberg news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.