The SEC claims that Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani concealed a corruption scheme in bond documents.
The Adanis deny the corruption charges and any involvement in bond issuances.
The related American criminal case has been pending since late 2024.
The SEC has not immediately commented.
(Adds details from the case file, related criminal case, context, paragraphs 4 to 11)
by Jonathan Stempel
Gautam Adani, the second richest person in India, will ask an American judge to dismiss the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) civil fraud case stemming from an alleged corruption scheme, his lawyers said on Tuesday.
Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani were accused by the SEC in November 2024 of orchestrating a scheme to pay or promise to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to Indian government officials on behalf of Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS), where the two men are executives and directors.
The securities fraud case is linked to Adani Green’s failure to disclose the scheme in bond documents for a $750 million issuance in 2021.
In a filing with the federal court in Brooklyn, New York, Adani’s lawyers stated that their clients contest the existence of credible evidence supporting the alleged corruption scheme.
The lawyers argued that the Adanis’ lack of involvement in the offering and absence of fraudulent intent or negligence justify the dismissal of the complaint.
They also called the SEC’s complaints “inadmissible extraterritorial claims,” considering that the alleged wrongs were committed in India and the bonds were never traded on an American exchange.
The SEC has not commented immediately. The Adanis’ lawyers said they would officially seek dismissal by April 30.
American prosecutors filed a related criminal complaint in November 2024 against the Adanis and several others. There have been no public developments in that case since December 2024. A spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn declined to comment.
Gautam Adani, 63, founded and chairs the Adani Group conglomerate and is chairman of Adani Green.
He is worth about $60.6 billion, ranking 30th globally according to Forbes magazine.
Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries conglomerate (RELI.NS), is India’s richest person with a value of around $91.4 billion, placing him 20th globally according to Forbes.
