The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has asked the Indian government for help in its investigation of Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani in an alleged $265 million bribery and fraud case, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The US market regulator informed a district court in New York that it was trying to serve its complaint to Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani and that it had sought assistance from the Indian law ministry.

In November, the United States Attorney’s office for the Eastern District in New York indicted Gautam Adani in a $265 million bribery and fraud case.

The US Department of Justice had alleged that executives of the conglomerate participated in a scheme to bribe officials in India for solar energy contracts, then misrepresented the company’s anti-bribery practices to investors in the United States. The details of the alleged bribes were concealed to secure financing, the US Department of Justice claimed.

The Adani Group has denied the allegations and vowed legal action. In December, Gautam Adani blamed the press for what he described as “incorrect and reckless reporting” on the matter.

While the indictment document outlines conspiracy to obstruct justice and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Adani and his executives were not charged on these counts.

The indictment document does, however, name Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Cyril Cabanes of Azure Power Global in what it describes as a “massive bribery scheme”.

On November 27, the Adani Group said in a stock exchange filing that Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani had been charged in the US for securities fraud, not bribery.

The charges had hurt the group’s market value with shares falling by $54 billion at the time.

The Union government had said on November 29 that it views the developments relating to the indictments as a legal matter involving private companies, individuals and the US Justice Department.

On February 10, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the justice department to pause prosecutions of Americans accused of bribing foreign officials to secure business deals.

The order halts enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a 1977 law that bars US companies from bribing foreign government officials. Trump has directed US Attorney General Pam Bondi to review actions related to the Act and draft new enforcement guidelines.

The decision was viewed as a potential relief for the Adani Group and its chairperson. With the pause in prosecutions under the Act, investigations against them could be delayed or potentially weakened, reports had said.

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