The Adani Group has met officials of the Trump administration in a bid to dismiss the criminal charges against Gautam Adani in the US, a report claimed Monday.
The discussions between the Indian billionaire, who critics claim is close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are not new but have been going on since earlier this year, Bloomberg reported.
There was a meeting in March with the US Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, New York, and the Justice Department, the news agency claimed.
“The talks, which began earlier this year, intensified in recent weeks and could lead to a resolution in the coming month or so, if the pace continues, some of the people said, asking not to be identified because the conversations are confidential,” Bloomberg reported.
“Adani’s representatives are trying to make the case that his prosecution doesn’t align with President Donald Trump’s priorities and should be reconsidered, one of the people said,” it added.
The Adani Group did not respond to Bloomberg’s request for an official comment.,
In November last year, the US department of justice (DOJ) indicted Gautam Adani, his nephew and executive director Sagar Adani and managing director Vneet S. Jaain, alleging that they paid bribes to secure contracts and misled US investors during fund raises.
A civil complaint was also filed by US market watchdog Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) against two of its directors.
Even as Adani Green had then denied the charge and termed it ‘baseless’, the company appointed law firms to perform an independent review, ‘to uphold the principles of good governance’, to assess and evaluate related non-compliance, if any, in this matter.
The independent review did not identify any non-compliance or irregularities.
An independent review, carried out by law firms appointed by Adani Green Energy Ltd, of the US indictment of founder Gautam Adani and top Adani Green executives, who were accused of paying $265 million in bribes for power contracts to Indian states, did not identify any non-compliance or irregularities.
In November, US department of justice (DOJ) indicted Gautam Adani, his nephew and executive director Sagar Adani and managing director Vneet S. Jaain, alleging that they paid bribes to secure contracts and misled US investors during fund raises.
A civil complaint was also filed by US market watchdog Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) against two of its directors.
Even as Adani Green had then denied the charge and termed it ‘baseless’, the company appointed law firms to perform an independent review, ‘to uphold the principles of good governance’, to assess and evaluate related non-compliance, if any, in this matter.
“Such independent review also did not identify any non-compliances or irregularities in the matter,” Adani Energy said in a note to results.
Based on the review, the management concluded that the Adani Energy and subsidiaries have complied with applicable laws and regulations, and the pending proceedings are not expected to have any material consequences on the company and subsidiaries and accordingly, no adjustments have been made to these consolidated financial results in this regard, the note disclosed.
As per the indictment, these directors were charged on three counts in the criminal indictment, namely, alleged securities fraud conspiracy, alleged wire fraud conspiracy and alleged securities fraud for making false and misleading statements.
According to the SEC’s civil complaint, it was alleged that directors omitted material facts that rendered certain statements misleading to US investors under the Securities Act of 1933 and 1934.
The company reminded that it was not named as defendant in the indictment and civil complaint and matters are pending for further proceedings as at the date of reporting.
Adani Green has handed out another 5-year term to the MD Jain, despite the indictment.
“Adani’s representatives are trying to make the case that his prosecution doesn’t align with President Donald Trump’s priorities and should be reconsidered, one of the people said,” Bloomberg reported.