'Haven't received any request': Modi govt breaks silence on Adani case, says matter between pvt firms and US justice dept

To a question on whether the United States has served a summons or warrant on the Adani case, he said India has not received any such request.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Friday stated that the indictment of billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani in a court in the United States was a “legal matter” involving private firms, private individuals, and the American Department of Justice.

 “We see this as a legal matter involving private firms and individuals and the US Department of Justice,” Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said.

"This is a matter which pertains to private individuals and private entities, and the government of India is not part of it in any manner at this point of time," he added.

This was the first official reaction from the Government of India after billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani were indicted in a US federal court for allegedly conspiring to commit securities and wire fraud and substantive securities fraud for their roles in a multi-billion-dollar scheme to obtain funds from US investors and global financial institutions on the basis of false and misleading statements.

The US prosecutors alleged in the indictment that Gautam and Sagar Adani had agreed to pay more than $250 million in bribes to the officials of the Government of India to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts.

The legal proceedings by the American Department of Justice against the Adani Group gave the opposition parties in India new ammunition to attack the BJP-led Government in the Centre, both inside and outside Parliament.

“Obviously, there are established procedures and legal avenues in such cases, which we believe would be followed,” Jaiswal added in his reply to a question on New Delhi’s position on the allegations against Adani.

Jaiswal said that New Delhi had not been informed about the case in advance. “The government of India was not informed in advance on the issue. We have not had any conversation with the US government on it,” added the MEA spokesperson.

He also said that the US had not yet served a summons or warrant on the case to the missions of India in the US. “Any request by a foreign government for service of summons or arrest warrant is part of mutual legal assistance. But such requests are examined on merits. We have not received any request on this case from the US side,” he said.