Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani Seek Negotiation With US SEC Over Fraud Case
Fourteen months later, the US SEC's fraud charges against Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani have taken a new turn. Adani's lawyers have now expressed their willingness to negotiate on accepting the SEC summons in US court. Previously, the Indian Law Ministry had twice returned the summons under the Hague Convention.
Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani have been accused of fraud. The fraud case was brought by the SEC, an organization responsible for governing the US Stock Market. However, after waiting for 14 months, Adani has come forward with a new defense in an American court in support of the Indian businessmen. The lawyers for Adani have stated in their letter this week that they are willing to negotiate with the SEC in America regarding how they will accept the summons.
January 23, the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, which represents Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani, presented a petition before Judge Nicholas G., whose letter to Garaufis mentioned: "The parties, the Adani parties and the SEC, are engaged in discussions to reach an agreement with respect to the service of the summons." Therefore, the court has been requested to withhold a decision in this matter and allow both parties to negotiate.
The letter did not elaborate on the terms being discussed. This development comes two days after the SEC requested the court to bypass the Indian government and serve the summons directly via email and through Adani's American lawyers. This move was taken because India's Law Ministry had twice refused to serve the summons under the Hague Convention (an international treaty).
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The Law Ministry first returned the summons in May because the SEC's cover letter lacked an ink signature and an official seal on the standard form. The SEC dismissed this as baseless, stating that the Hague Convention does not require such a requirement. A second request was subsequently sent on May 27th.
But in December, the ministry again refused. This time, the letters, dated November 2025, cited the SEC's own internal rule 5(b) and stated that the summons did not fall within the categories handled by the ministry. The letters were signed by Krishna Mohan Arya, Deputy Legal Advisor, and Niranjan Prasad, Section Officer, Ministry of Law.
In its affidavit to the court, the SEC completely rejected the ministry's position. It stated that the objection is not based on the Hague Convention, but rather an unjustified challenge to the validity of the SEC's investigation and action. The SEC states that there are no alternative remedies under Indian law, making it difficult to enforce the summons through the Hague Convention. Law Ministry officials in New Delhi did not comment on the matter.
An SEC spokesperson said, "We will not comment beyond our public filings." Sullivan & Cromwell, representing the company, declined to comment on Saturday and asked to be contacted on Monday. The SEC filed civil fraud charges against Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani on November 20, 2024. They allege they committed fraudulent activities in a $750 million bond issue that raised over $175 million from US investors.
The Adani Group has dismissed these allegations as baseless. Shares of Adani Group companies fell sharply on Friday after news of the SEC's motion surfaced, with some shares falling by as much as 3.4% to 14.54%.
