Adanis Seek Dismissal of SEC Securities Fraud Suit

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani have asked a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, to dismiss a civil securities fraud lawsuit filed against them by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2024. The Adanis, key figures in the Adani Group conglomerate, argue that the case lacks jurisdiction and fails to establish any wrongdoing related to a 2021 bond offering by their renewable energy company.

The SEC alleges that Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group, and Sagar Adani, executive director at Adani Green Energy Ltd., orchestrated a scheme involving more than $250 million in bribes to Indian state government officials between 2020 and 2024. The purpose, according to the complaint, was to secure favorable solar power contracts for Adani Green Energy, including India's largest solar plant project. In connection with a $750 million bond offering by Adani Green Energy in September 2021, the regulators claim the Adanis failed to disclose the bribery scheme in offering documents, misleading investors about the company's compliance with anti-bribery laws and its environmental, social, and governance practices.