Washington DC [US], January 9 : The US Justice Department's indictment of Gautam Adani and others has once again met with criticism.
Now, US Congressman Lance Gooden who represents Texas' 5th District in the U.S. House of Representatives and served on the House Committee on the Judiciary Committee, has written to US Attorney General Merrick Garland questioning the Department of Justice's indictment of Gautam Adani and others in an alleged bribery case.
In his letter, a copy of which was given toby the Congressman's staff, the Congressman said that the timing of the decision to pursue an indictment of Adani was to disrupt President-elect Donald Trump's commitment to revive the American economy.
"An unwelcome and politically charged atmosphere for investors will only stall efforts to revitalize America's industrial base and economic growth, directly undermine President Trump's commitment to revive the economy with increased investments. Given the timing of these decisions coincides with the end of the Biden administration, concerns arise that the only true goal here is disruption for President Trump," the Congressman wrote.
The Congressman drew attention to the case of Smartmatic, the voting technology company, where three executives were charged in August last year by the US in connection with an alleged bribery scheme in the Philippines. The Congressman said that he and his colleagues had not been briefed about this before the US elections.
"The allegations in the Adani case, even if proven true, would still fail to make us the appropriate and final arbiter on the issue. These "bribes" were allegedly paid to Indian state government officials, in India, by Indian executives of an Indian company, with no concrete involvement of or injury to any American party. Conversely, Smartmatic, an American company responsible for conducting our elections, had executives who allegedly laundered money and paid bribes to foreign governments, according to the DOJ's indictment earlier. However, despite numerous attempts by my colleagues and I to have our concerns addressed before the elections, we were never briefed by your department," he stated.
The Congressman posed 5 questions to the Department of Justice one of which read, "Why has the DOJ pursued this case against Gautam Adani when the alleged criminal act, and the parties allegedly involved are in India? Do you seek to enforce justice in India?"
The Congressman went on to suggest that the charge could damage relations with one of the most reliable partners of the US.
"Such reckless acts of pursuit against its top industrialists could start a harmful narrative against India's growth. Not respecting India's authority over this matter could strain and even permanently damage our international relations with a strategically important and key economic and political ally," he wrote.
Congressman Gooden suggested that the best way forward would be let the Indian authorities investigate the case.
"At this juncture, letting the Indian authorities investigate, determine any injury, and adjudicate on the matter instead of jumping to premature conclusions would be the best and only appropriate course of action," he wrote.
The US indictment of Gautam Adani and others in the alleged bribery case has drawn questions from several quarters.
Former Attorney General of India, Mukul Rohatgi had earlier said, "I have gone through this indictment by the US court. My assessment is that there are five charges or five counts. It is important to note that counts one and five are more important than the others, but neither in Count 1 nor in Count 5 is Mr Adani or his nephew charged."
In November last year, responding to the indictment Chairman of Adani Group, Gautam Adani said, "We faced a set of allegations from the US about compliance practices at Adani Green Energy. This is not the first time we have faced such challenges. What I can tell you is that every attack makes us stronger, and every obstacle becomes a stepping stone for a more resilient Adani Group. The fact is that despite a lot of the vested reporting, no one from the Adani side has been charged with any violation of the FCPA or any conspiracy to obstruct justice."
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