Attorney Behind US Department Move Against Adani Group To Resign
New Delhi:
Breon Peace, the attorney behind the fraud US indictment charge against the Adani Group, has announced his resignation effective January 10.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Peace, 50, described his role as “the honour of a lifetime.” Appointed by President Joe Biden in 2021, Peace will leave office just days before President-elect Donald Trump assumes office on January 20. Carolyn Pokorny, currently the First Assistant US Attorney, will succeed Peace in an acting capacity.
In November, his office indicted Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani and other officials of the conglomerate, for allegedly defrauding US investors by concealing a bribery scheme aimed at securing Indian government contracts. The company categorically denied all charges.
The Adani Group has flagged a wrong understanding of the US indictment for the “incorrect” reporting about the bribery charges, stating that it offered no evidence about the alleged exchange of bribes. All three directors – Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and senior executive Vneet Jaain – are clear of bribery charges.
“The ill-founded US action and reckless false reporting have led to significant repercussions for the Indian conglomerate, such as international project cancellations, financial market impact, and sudden examination from strategic partners, investors, and the public,” said the Adani Group in a statement.
The Adani Group said that the US government report is linked to one contract of Adani Green Energy, representing approximately 10 per cent of the subsidiary’s business. None of the Adani Group’s 11 public companies is implicated or accused of any wrongdoing, the group’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jugeshinder Singh said.
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