Gautam Ad. bribery case: Ad. Group has denied allegations of bribery and fraud leveled by the US Justice Department. The Ad. Group said in a statement through its lawyers that the charge sheet filed by the US Justice Department does not allege any bribery or fraud against Ad. Group Chairman Gautam Ad., Sagar Ad. and Vineet Jain. All three have been charged with securities fraud and wire fraud, with possible penalties. While it has been alleged by various media houses that the said Ad. Group individuals paid bribes of $26.5 million to Indian officials, this is not mentioned in the charge sheet filed by the US government.
Gautam Ad. and nephew claim no bribery allegations
Addressing the media along with Rajya Sabha MP and senior lawyer Mahesh Jethmal., former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said, “We have read the charge sheet presented by the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. There are five counts (individual charges) in total. The first and fifth charges are related to bribery and fraud. This is significant, but neither Gautam Ad. nor his nephews Sagar Ad. or Vineet Jain are named anywhere in the allegation.
Speaking as a lawyer, not as spokesperson of Ad. Group: Mukul Rohatgi
Mukul Rohatgi further said, ‘I am giving clarification as a lawyer, not as the spokesperson of Ad. Group. After a thorough study of the charge sheet, it was found that in the first charge sheet, the names of some other officials were not included but of Gautam Ad.. He is accused of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The names of Ad. Group officials are also not included in this. Some officials of Azure Power and a foreign investor are involved in this case.
A total of five charges are mentioned in the charge sheet
A total of five allegations have been made in the charge sheet of the US government. In which, except Gautam Ad. and Sagar Ad., all other officials are accused of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. There are also allegations of corruption and bribery, which include the names of Ranjit Gupta, Cyril Cabans, Saurabh Agarwal, Deepak Malhotra and Rupesh Agarwal of Azure Power and CDPQ.
Apart from this, the second and third charges allege violation of securities and bond rules. The names of Gautam Ad. and Sagar Ad. are in it. The fifth charge alleges bribery to officials of government comp.es involved in the supply and purchase of electricity, but it does not even mention the names of those accused of bribery. There is no clarification in the charge sheet regarding to whom the bribe was given, when the bribe was given and for which contract. The amount of bribe is also not mentioned in the charge sheet.
Mahesh Jethmal. attacked the opposition
Mahesh Jethmal. criticized the opposition for making Ad. Group a political issue and said, ‘Ad. is clearly being made a political weapon. After the defeat in Maharashtra elections, Congress and its alliance want to divert people’s attention. He is constantly emphasizing on foreign issues like Ad. Group and M.pur violence, which are against the interests of the country.
