A Renewed Demand for Investigation
After a US District Court in New York charged Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, in connection with an alleged bribery and fraud scheme, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh stated on Thursday that this development vindicated the Congress’s long-standing demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation into various alleged scams.
In a post on X, Jairam Ramesh said, “The indictment of Gautam Adani and others by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the US vindicates the demand that the Indian National Congress has been making since January 2023 for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation into the various Modani scams. The INC had asked a hundred questions in its Hum Adani ke Hain (HAHK) series, highlighting the various dimensions of these scams and the intimate nexus that has existed between the PM and his favourite businessman. These questions have remained unanswered.”
Criticism of SEBI’s Role
Ramesh also criticized the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its handling of the investigation into the Adani Group, stating that the SEC’s actions cast a poor light on SEBI’s efforts.
“The INC reiterates its demand for a JPC in the transactions of the Adani Group, which is leading to growing monopolization in key sectors of the Indian economy, fuelling inflation, and posing huge foreign policy challenges as well, especially in our neighbourhood,” Ramesh added.
Details of the Indictment
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, a five-count criminal indictment was unsealed in federal court, charging Gautam Adani, Sagar R. Adani, and Vneet S. Jaain with conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud and substantive securities fraud for their roles in a multi-billion-dollar scheme to obtain funds from U.S. investors and global financial institutions based on false and misleading statements.
The indictment also charges Ranjit Gupta and Rupesh Agarwal, former executives of a renewable-energy company, and Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, and Deepak Malhotra, former employees of a Canadian institutional investor, with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with the alleged bribery scheme.
Allegations of Bribery and Fraud
“As alleged, the defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars, and Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani, and Vneet S. Jaain lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from U.S. and international investors,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace.
The indictment also accuses the executives of obstructing investigations by the FBI, Department of Justice (DOJ), and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Legal Proceedings and Investigations
The US Attorney’s office emphasized that the charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The investigation was conducted by the FBI New York’s Corporate, Securities and Commodities Fraud and International Corruption Units. The government’s case is being handled by the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
There has been no response so far from the office of Gautam Adani or others named in the indictment.
