Gautam Adani And civil and criminal charges have been filed by the US against seven others in a multimillion-dollar bribery case. A prominent New York lawyer says the case could escalate significantly and lead to arrest warrants and even extradition efforts. The US Justice Department has charged Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, along with seven others, with bribing officials in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha to buy expensive solar power. However, the names of the officers have not been disclosed in this.
There may be an attempt to extradite
These projects are expected to generate profits of more than two billion dollars for the group in 20 years. However, Adani Group has denied the allegations, saying the allegations made by US prosecutors are 'baseless' and the group 'complies with all laws.' “US Attorney Brian Peace has the authority to issue arrest warrants against Adani and seven others and pursue the case in the countries where they reside,” Indian-American lawyer Ravi Batra told PTI. He said, “If that country has an extradition treaty, as India has, then as per the bilateral contract between sovereign nations, the resident nation must hand over the person extradited to the US. There is a process which the resident nation must follow in accordance with its laws.”
Extradition happens in rare circumstances
Batra said extradition happens “in extremely rare circumstances”, as was the case with former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet. Britain did not extradite him solely on humanitarian grounds. “It is difficult to see the Pinochet precedent being applied in this case involving Adani and seven others,” he said. The India-US extradition treaty was signed in 1997. US Attorney Peace for the Eastern District of New York has announced a five-count criminal indictment against Adani, 62, his nephew Adani Green Energy director Sagar Adani and the company's former CEO Vineet S Jain.
Image Credit: India-Tv.