'Confident' To Steer Through Crisis, Says White House Amid Adani Row: Indo-US Ties 'Extremely Strong'

The White House has acknowledged the allegations against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group, who has been indicted in New York for his alleged involvement in a multibillion-dollar bribery and fraud scheme.

US prosecutors have accused Adani and seven other individuals, including his nephew Sagar Adani, of agreeing to pay approximately $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure contracts expected to generate $2 billion in profit over two decades and develop India's largest solar power plant project.

Photo Credit: PTI

The Adani Group has dismissed the allegations as "baseless," while Indian government officials have yet to comment on the matter.

During a press briefing on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that the administration is aware of the charges against Adani. Emphasising the strength of US-India relations, she expressed confidence in the ability of both nations to address the current situation.

"Obviously, we're aware of these allegations, and I would have to refer you to the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and DOJ (Department of Justice) about the specifics of those allegations against the Adani Group," Jean-Pierre said.

"What I will say is on the US and India relationship, we believe that it stands on an extremely strong foundation anchored in ties between our people and cooperation across a full range of global issues," she added.

Advocating for robust ties between the two nations, Jean-Pierre said, "What we believe and we are confident about is that we'll continue to navigate this issue as we have with other issues that may have come up as you just stated. And so the specifics of this, this is something that the SEC and DOJ can speak to directly, but again, we believe that...this relationship between the two nations has been built on a strong foundation."

Adani Group's Response

On Thursday, the Adani Group described the US allegations that their billionaire founder Gautam Adani paid over $250 million in bribes as "baseless," following demands from opposition leader Rahul Gandhi for Adani's arrest.

The sharp denial came after shares in the conglomerate plunged by more than 23 per cent in Mumbai, a day after a damning indictment in New York accused Adani of deliberately misleading international investors.

"The allegations made by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of Adani Green are baseless and denied," the group said in a statement. "All possible legal recourse will be sought," it added.

Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi demanded Adani's immediate arrest. "We demand that Adani be immediately arrested. But we know that won't happen as Modi is protecting him," Gandhi said to reporters in New Delhi.

"Modi can't act even if he wants to, because he is controlled by Adani," the Congress MP alleged.

The BJP, however, dismissed Gandhi's accusations as part of his ongoing attempts to target Prime Minister Modi. BJP spokesperson and MP Sambit Patra pointed out that none of the four states mentioned in the US court documents are governed by the BJP.

"Law will take its own course," Patra remarked.