White House Downplays Impact of Alleged Adani Bribery Case On India-US Relations—All About It

The White House has expressed confidence that the robust ties between India and the United States will enable both countries to address the ongoing crisis surrounding alleged bribery charges against billionaire Gautam Adani.

During a press briefing on Thursday (21 November), White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed allegations, saying the Biden administration was aware of the bribery charges against Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group.

The indictment filed in New York accuses 62-year-old Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, 30, and other executives of being involved in a multi-million dollar bribery and fraud scheme to secure lucrative solar energy contracts.

"We are aware of these allegations, and I would have to refer you to the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and DOJ (Department of Justice) about the specifics of those allegations against the Adani Group," Jean-Pierre said.

Jean-Pierre dismissed concerns about a possible strain in US-India relations due to the alleged bribery scandal, stating, "What I will say is, on the US and India relationship, we believe that it stands on an extremely strong foundation, anchored in ties between our people and cooperation across a full range of global issues."

Highlighting the resilience of bilateral ties, Jean-Pierre added, "And so what we believe, and we're confident about, is that we'll continue to navigate this issue, as we have with other issues that may have come up."

The charges against Adani and his associates, including executives of Adani Green Energy Ltd and Cyril Cabanes of Azure Power Global Ltd, include conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud along with substantive securities fraud.

The US federal prosecutors claim the accused orchestrated a scheme to obtain funds from US investors and global financial institutions through false and misleading statements.

The Adani Group has rejected the US allegations, labelling them as "baseless."

This denial came after a steep 23 per cent drop in the conglomerate's share value on Thursday, erasing over Rs 2 lakh crore in market capitalisation.

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