DOJ dropping Adani case: US senators renew demand for answers

Washington: Democratic US senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal have renewed their demands for answers from the US Department of Justice over its decision to drop the criminal case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, after court filings confirmed that the Adani Group had offered to invest $10 billion in the United States during discussions on resolving the case, The Wire reported.

In a September 23 letter to US Attorney General Todd Blanche, the senators said the filings confirmed that Adani’s lawyers had raised the investment proposal with the Justice Department. They cited a declaration by his lawyer, Robert Giuffra Jr., stating that his firm had twice informed the DOJ that the Adani Group was willing to pursue the investment as part of efforts to promote US-India trade ties.

Warren and Blumenthal said the new disclosures raised further questions about what happened after the proposal was presented and how the Justice Department responded. They questioned why the investment offer was raised at least twice and what action officials took in response.

Their demands follow the August 10 dismissal of securities and wire fraud charges against Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and Adani Green Energy CEO Vneet Jaain by US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis.

While allowing the case to be dismissed, Garaufis criticised the Justice Department's process. He said the decision had been reached largely in cooperation with defence lawyers and apparently without input from FBI and SEC investigators or prosecutors involved in the case, calling the circumstances highly unusual.

The senators have now sought details of every investment offer made on behalf of the defendants, including when and where it was made, the DOJ officials present, its precise terms, the proposed investing entity, and the officials’ responses. They also want to know why the investment could not have been made before the charges were dropped.