CHENNAI: The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked the Indian government to help deliver legal notices to two senior Adani Group executives in a $750 million bond fraud case.
According to reports, in a status report dated August 11 to Magistrate Judge James R. Cho of the Eastern District of New York, the SEC said it had approached India’s Ministry of Law & Justice under the Hague Service Convention, an international treaty for delivering legal documents across borders. The request is aimed at serving notices to Gautam Adani, founder of Adani Green Energy Ltd, and his nephew Sagar Adani, the company’s executive director.
The SEC’s complaint, filed in November 2024, accuses the two of making false and misleading statements during a 2021 green bond issuance. According to the regulator, the executives concealed the fact that they had paid or promised hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to secure state energy contracts in India, which were then used to support the bond offering. The case also includes allegations of securities fraud, wire fraud, violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and obstruction of justice.
The regulator has been trying since early 2025 to formally serve the summons in India, but the notices have yet to reach the executives. The Ministry of Law & Justice has acknowledged receiving the SEC’s request and said it passed it on to the relevant judicial authorities, but there has been no confirmation of successful delivery.
However, the Adani Group has rejected the allegations, calling them baseless and politically motivated. It has said it will take all necessary legal steps to defend itself and maintains that it follows all laws and governance standards.
The SEC’s civil case seeks financial penalties, injunctions, and possible bans preventing the executives from serving as officers or directors of public companies in the United States.