US regulators have accused Indian authorities of failing to serve formal summons to billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani, causing delays in a high-profile legal battle in New York.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) told a federal court in the Eastern District of New York that procedural bottlenecks in cross-border legal cooperation have stalled progress in the civil lawsuit.
The SEC’s latest status report, which was filed on August 11, states that Indian authorities have yet to effect service under the Hague Service Convention.
The case, filed last year, accuses Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and other associates of securities law violations and misleading representations linked to Adani Group activities.
Prosecutors allege the defendants were involved in a scheme to pay approximately $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar power contracts, concealing the matter from US investors. The Adani Group has repeatedly denied the allegations, calling them “baseless.”
The SEC said it has made consistent attempts to advance the lawsuit but encountered delays after requesting assistance from India’s Ministry of Law and Justice in February.
The ministry reportedly forwarded the request to a court in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, but the regulator has received no confirmation that the summons were issued. In its most recent filing, the SEC confirmed it has been in continued contact with the Law Ministry and is pursuing service under the Hague Convention.
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However, as of August 11, the summons had still not been served. As an additional step, the SEC sent “Notices of Lawsuit and Requests for Waiver of Service of Summons” directly to Adani’s legal counsel in India. The civil lawsuit follows an indictment unsealed in a New York court on November 22, 2024, charging Adani and others with bribery and fraud.
The indictment details an alleged bribery scheme from 2020 to 2024 to secure solar power contracts from Indian state electricity distribution companies. The US claims jurisdiction because it alleges the Adani Group misled American banks and investors while raising billions of dollars for the solar energy project. The SEC’s civil case is separate from the criminal prosecution but is based on the same set of allegations.
Also Read: Gautam Adani not served summons, US court told of delays
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