US regulator seeks India’s help in serving complaint to Gautam Adani
New Delhi: The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sought assistance from the Indian government to serve a complaint to Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani in an alleged $265 million bribery and fraud case, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
The SEC informed a district court in New York that it was attempting to serve the complaint and had requested help from India’s law ministry.
In November, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York indicted Gautam Adani in connection with the case. The US Department of Justice accused executives of the conglomerate of bribing Indian officials for solar energy contracts and misrepresenting anti-bribery practices to US investors. It alleged that details of the bribes were concealed to secure financing.
The Adani Group has denied the allegations and announced plans for legal action. In December, Gautam Adani blamed the media for what he called "incorrect and reckless reporting" on the issue.
While the indictment document outlines conspiracy to obstruct justice and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Adani and his executives were not formally charged under these counts. However, it names Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and Cyril Cabanes of Azure Power Global in connection with the alleged bribery scheme.
On November 27, the Adani Group clarified in a stock exchange filing that Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani had been charged with securities fraud, not bribery. The charges led to a significant decline in the group’s market value, with shares losing $54 billion at the time.
On November 29, the Union government stated that it considered the matter a legal issue involving private companies, individuals, and the US Justice Department.
Meanwhile, on February 10, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order pausing prosecutions of Americans accused of bribing foreign officials for business deals. The order temporarily halts enforcement of the FCPA and directs US Attorney General Pam Bondi to review the law’s enforcement guidelines.
The move is seen as a potential relief for the Adani Group, as it could delay or weaken ongoing investigations against its executives.
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Four booked for tying 18-year-old to tree, beating him up in UP's Pratapgarh
Pratapgarh (UP) (PTI): Four people were booked here for the abduction and assault of a man who they allegedly tied to a tree and beat up, police said on Wednesday.
The incident, a video of which has gone viral, took place on Tuesday afternoon under the Kunda police station limits.
The FIR was registered on Wednesday evening based on a complaint from the victim's father.
According to Keshav Prasad Yadav, a resident of Mauli village, some people called his 18-year-old son Nikhil Yadav on the phone and asked him to come out of his house around 2.30 pm on Tuesday.
As he reached outside the village as instructed, the accused allegedly forced him into a car and took him towards the Tinpedwa forest area, where they tied him to a tree and assaulted, the complainant said.
The attackers also recorded a video of the incident and circulated it on social media. The purported video shows the men thrashing Nikhil one after another, while one of them is assumed to have recorded the act.
Kunda Station House Officer Manoj Pandey confirmed the incident and said efforts are underway to identify and arrest all the accused.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has shared the video on social media, describing the incident as reflective of a "dominant mindset" against the PDA (Pichda or Backward, Dalit, and Alpasankhyak or Minority), and demanded strict action against the accused.
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