US Securities & Exchange Commission Asks India For Help In Serving Legal Notices To Two Senior Adani Group Executives

In the US court, a $750-million bond fraud case has been filed. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has turned to Indian authorities for help in serving legal notices to two senior Adani Group executives.

Indian State Energy Contracts Bribes

The US SEC’s November 2024 complaint accused Gautam Adani, founder of Adani Green Energy Ltd, and his nephew Sagar Adani, the company’s executive director, of paying or promising hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to secure Indian state energy contracts for the ‘Manufacturing Linked Projects’.

Hague Service Convention

In a status report dated August 11 to Magistrate Judge James R Cho of the Eastern District of New York, the US SEC said it had approached India’s Ministry of Law & Justice under the Hague Service Convention, which governs cross-border delivery of legal documents.

Summons & Complaint Not Served

According to Business Standard, the US SEC said that despite multiple attempts since early 2025, including sending notices directly to the executives and their counsel and coordinating with Indian authorities, the summons and complaint have not yet been formally served. The regulator is seeking civil penalties, injunctions, and bans on the two executives from serving as officers or directors of public companies.

Million Dollar Green Bond Issue

According to the US market regulator, these contracts were later used to market a $750-million green bond issue in 2021, including $175 million sold to US investors, with representations of strict compliance with anti-bribery rules.

Status Report

In its status report, the regulator said previous summons and complaints to Gautam Adani, founder of Adani Green Energy Ltd, and his nephew Sagar Adani, the company’s executive director and their lawyers had not yet been formally served since the complaint was filed in November 2024.

US Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure

The case is being pursued under Rule 4(f) of the US Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which allows service abroad by any internationally agreed method “reasonably calculated to give notice” and does not impose a deadline. The commission has been updating the court periodically, with earlier reports submitted on April 23 and June 27.