New York. The case against Indian industrialist Gautam Adani and seven others could progress significantly, potentially leading to the issuance of arrest warrants and extradition efforts. A prominent attorney has stated this in the wake of civil and criminal charges filed in the U.S. regarding a multimillion-dollar bribery case.
The U.S. Department of Justice has accused Adani, India’s second-richest individual, along with his nephew Sagar Adani and seven others, of bribing officials in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha to procure expensive solar energy deals. The names of the officials involved have not been disclosed. These projects are expected to yield over $2 billion in profits for the group over 20 years. However, the Adani Group has denied the allegations, calling them “baseless” and asserting compliance with all laws.
Indian-American lawyer Ravi Batra stated on Thursday that U.S. Attorney Brian Peace has the authority to issue arrest warrants against Adani and the seven others and request their extradition from their home countries. Batra explained that if the concerned country has an extradition treaty with the U.S.—as India does—then under the bilateral agreement between sovereign nations, the individual should be handed over to the U.S. by the country of residence. The extradition process, however, must adhere to the legal framework of the home country.
India and the U.S. signed an extradition treaty in 1997. U.S. Attorney Peace from the Eastern District of New York has announced criminal charges against 62-year-old Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani (Executive Director of the Adani Green Energy Limited, the group’s renewable energy unit), and its former CEO Vineet S. Jain in five cases.
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