The SEC filed the civil action in November 2024, accusing the Adanis of misleading investors by failing to disclose an alleged bribery scheme involving Indian state officials in connection with a US $750 million bond offering by the renewable energy arm Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) in 2021.

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In a pre-motion letter filed with the Eastern District Court of New York, the Adanis' lawyers said they will formally move to dismiss the lawsuit by 30 April. They argued that the complaint is "legally flawed on multiple grounds" and that the court lacks authority to hear the case.

Key Defences

Lack of US Personal Jurisdiction: The filing asserts that neither Gautam nor Sagar Adani has sufficient contacts with the United States to justify personal jurisdiction. It also notes they were not directly involved in the bond transaction at issue.

Extraterritorial Application of Law: The defendants contend the SEC's claims seek an impermissible extraterritorial application of US securities laws, since the bond offering was conducted outside the United States and the issuer is not a US registrant.

Foreign Issuance Mechanisms: The bond sale was carried out under SEC Rule 144A and Regulation S exemptions, designed for private resales to qualified institutional buyers and non-US sales. The Adanis emphasise that the securities were initially sold overseas to non-US underwriters and only later resold to a limited number of US buyers in secondary transactions in which Adani Green was not a party.

No Alleged Losses: In their response, the Adanis note that the bonds have since matured and all principal and interest were repaid in full, denying any investor losses.

The filing also disputes the credibility of the alleged bribery scheme itself and argues that the SEC failed to allege any specific misleading conduct by either defendant that would satisfy US securities fraud standards.

(PTI)