Adani hires prominent Wall Street lawyer as SEC case set to advance

The SEC's lawsuit alleges that Gautam and his nephew Sagar Adani violated US securities laws by making false and misleading representations about Adani Green Energy Ltd

By Patricia Hurtado and P R Sanjai

 

Gautam Adani has hired a prominent Wall Street lawyer to defend him against fraud allegations by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, as the regulator presses to advance its stalled case.

 

India’s second-richest person recently tapped Robert Giuffra Jr, to be his lawyer in the SEC’s lawsuit, court filings show. Giuffra, who represents prominent clients in high-stakes financial cases as co-chair of white-shoe law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, is also working on President Donald Trump’s bid to overturn his criminal conviction.

 

The SEC’s lawsuit, filed in November 2024, alleges that Gautam and his nephew Sagar Adani violated US securities laws by making false and misleading representations about Adani Green Energy Ltd. In addition to the SEC’s civil complaint, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York, charged the Adanis and others with allegedly helping drive a $250 million bribery scheme in India to lock in solar-power contracts.

 

 

Both the criminal and SEC case have been stalled for more than a year with both Adanis in India. But the SEC last week asked a US judge to let it use alternative measures to formally notify the Adanis of the lawsuit. The regulator asked permission to use email and serve papers on other US law firms representing the Adanis. 

 

Adani stocks slipped on news of the SEC’s move, wiping away almost $13 billion in combined market value on Jan 23. There still hasn’t been any movement in the criminal case.

 

The regulator says it was rebuffed in India with attempts to formally serve the Adanis with the lawsuit. Generally, litigation can’t proceed in the US until the defendants have been properly notified of a complaint.

 

The SEC said in a court filing that Giuffra contacted the agency to say he’s representing Gautam and is willing to accept the lawsuit on the Adanis’ behalf. Giuffra then asked the court for more time to negotiate with the SEC on how to proceed with both Adanis in India. 

 

US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis, who’s presiding over the case, is set to rule on the SEC’s request Friday.

 

Giuffra and the SEC declined to comment. 

 

The US regulator has said it’s unsuccessfully tried to get assistance from Indian government to deliver the summons.

 

Gautam and Sagar Adani are preparing to accept the SEC summons through US-based counsel and their representatives have been in touch with Indian government officials about their plans, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Indian government may seek certain modifications to the summons process, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing the deliberations.

 

India’s Ministry of Law and Justice and the Ministry of External Affairs didn’t immediately respond to an email sent after normal office hours seeking comments.

 

A representative for the Adani Group had no immediate comment on the developments in the SEC’s lawsuit. Gautam Adani chairs the conglomerate and Sagar Adani is executive director at Adani Green Energy. Neither the conglomerate nor its corporate units were sued by the SEC.

 

Wall Street Lawyer 

Giuffra, a former law clerk to William Rehnquist while he was chief justice of the US Supreme Court, joined Sullivan & Cromwell in 1989. For more than 25 years, he has represented a roster of prominent clients, including Volkswagen AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Benchmark Litigation gave him a “Securities Litigator of the Year” US award in 2025 and has listed him on its shortlist for this year’s awards. 

 

Giuffra last year began representing Trump in his attempt to overturn his 2024 criminal case where a Manhattan jury found him guilty of falsifying business records to cover up payments to an adult film star. He is also representing Trump in his bid to have that state case moved to federal court.