Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, were summoned by the US Securities and Exchange Commission to explain allegations that they paid more than $250 million in bribes to win solar-power contracts, Press Trust of India reported.
The summons were sent to the Adanis’ respective residences in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, with replies expected within 21 days, PTI said, citing a Nov. 21 notice dispatched through the New York Eastern District Court. A judgment by default will be entered against the Adanis if they don’t respond on time, the notice said.
The SEC will have to send the summons via an “established protocol” involving diplomatic channels, which include the Indian Embassy in the US, PTI said in a separate story citing two sources. It will take some time before the notice can be served to the Adanis, the report added.
A representative for the Adani Group didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment outside business hours.
On Nov. 20, US prosecutors announced a criminal indictment against the two Adanis and others in relation to the bribery allegations, while the SEC separately charged them in a civil case.
The Adani Group denied wrongdoing. On Saturday, Chief Financial Officer Jugeshinder Singh said in a post on X that the group would respond publicly to the charges after a detailed legal review, adding that the claims are allegations and the accused have a presumption of innocence.
Separately, a fresh plea has been filed to India’s Supreme Court seeking an investigation by Indian authorities into the bribery allegations, CNBC reported. India’s capital markets regulator is also looking into whether the group violated rules mandating the disclosure of market-moving information, Bloomberg News reported Friday.