Adani seeks dismissal of US court fraud case:Claims the matter outside US jurisdiction and no fraud proven

Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani have sought to dismiss the civil fraud case filed by the US regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). They argued that the matter falls outside US jurisdiction and contains no substantial allegations. The Adani Group filed a pre-motion letter in a New York court, stating that the deal in question occurred outside the United States. Therefore, the SEC’s case is legally weak and should be dismissed entirely. The SEC had filed the lawsuit against Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani on 24 November. It alleged that the Adani Group’s company, Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL), misled investors during a 2021 bond issuance and failed to disclose a bribery matter. Adani’s argument – no direct connection with the US Adani’s lawyers have argued for the dismissal of the case, stating that neither Gautam Adani nor Sagar Adani had any contact with the US that would be relevant to this case. They also pointed out that they had no direct role in the process of issuing the bonds. The Adani side cited previous rulings of the US Supreme Court, saying that the SEC has failed to show that any ‘domestic transaction’ was involved. They noted that the company issuing the bonds is Indian, not listed in the US, and the alleged incident occurred entirely in India. Therefore, US laws cannot be applied extraterritorially. Sale of $750 million bond and foreign regulations The filing stated that the $750 million (approximately ₹6,300 crore) bond was sold outside the US under Rules 144A and Regulation S. These securities were sold to non-US underwriters and later a portion was resold to qualified institutional buyers (QIBs). Lawyers argued that the complaint does not allege that Gautam Adani approved this issue or participated in any meetings that could have influenced US investors. The group also informed the court that the SEC has not mentioned any losses suffered by investors. According to the group, the bonds matured in 2024, and investors were fully repaid with interest. Additionally, the group completely dismissed the allegations of bribery, stating that there is no credible evidence to support them. Future strategy: major hearing likely on 30 April The Adani Group has requested that the case be completely dismissed. They also stated that if necessary, they are ready to appear for a pre-motion conference. All eyes are now on 30 April, when a detailed motion will be presented before the court.