New York: In a major procedural breakthrough, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has cleared a key hurdle in its long-running civil fraud lawsuit against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, allowing the case to move forward in a Brooklyn federal court after more than a year of stagnation.
Filed in November 2024, the SEC’s complaint alleges that the Adanis violated U.S. securities laws by orchestrating a scheme to pay or promise hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to Indian government officials to benefit Adani Green Energy, where both serve as directors and executives. However, the case effectively stalled because U.S. regulators were unable to formally serve legal summonses on the defendants, who are based in India.
The delay stemmed from repeated failed attempts to deliver legal papers through diplomatic and international legal channels. The SEC initially sought assistance from India’s Ministry of Law and Justice under the Hague Convention on Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents, but the ministry twice declined to serve the summonses, citing procedural formalities such as missing signatures and seal requirements and questioning the applicability of certain regulatory procedures.
Frustrated by the lack of progress, the SEC turned to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, seeking approval to bypass traditional diplomatic channels and serve the summonses through alternative means specifically by delivering them to the Adanis’ U.S.-based legal counsel and via email, citing defendants’ actual awareness of the litigation.
On January 30, 2026, lawyers for both sides filed a joint notice in court agreeing that the Adanis’ American attorneys would accept service of the SEC’s complaint, effectively removing the need for the judge to rule on how the summonses should be served. Once approved by the court, this arrangement gives the Adanis 90 days to respond to the complaint a window during which they can file motions to dismiss or raise other defenses.
The SEC alleges that the Adanis’ conduct violated U.S. securities laws by misleading investors and engaging in bribery to secure lucrative renewable energy contracts — claims the Adani Group has repeatedly denied. The group has emphasized that Adani Green Energy and affiliated companies are not named as defendants and that no formal charges of bribery or corruption have been made against the corporate entities themselves.
Alongside the civil action, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) also filed a criminal indictment in November 2024 against the Adanis and several other individuals on related charges. That criminal case, however, has seen no public movement for over a year.
The drawn-out legal standoff has rattled financial markets. News of U.S. regulators’ efforts to serve summonses directly after India’s refusals triggered sharp declines in shares of Adani-linked companies, with some stocks shedding significant value as investor anxiety spiked over regulatory and geopolitical uncertainty.
With the procedural dilemma now resolved, the SEC’s civil case can proceed on the merits. Legal experts say the coming months could see vigorous litigation over the validity of the charges and jurisdictional questions, as well as strategic motions from the defense seeking dismissal or narrowing of the case.
The unfolding developments also highlight the challenges regulators face in cross-border enforcement of financial laws and the complexities of international legal cooperation, particularly when diplomatic and procedural disputes intersect with major global business controversies.
As the Adanis prepare their formal response to the complaint, global and Indian markets will be watching closely both for legal outcomes and broader implications for investor confidence in multinational issuers operating across jurisdictions.