US SEC has not yet served summons on Gautam Adani, nephew Sagar Adani in India; here’s why

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not yet delivered legal summons to Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani, his nephew. The American regulatory body had initiated legal proceedings against the industrialists and their organisation a few months ago.The SEC submitted its third status update on August 11, 2025, to the Eastern District Court of New York’s Magistrate Judge James R. Cho. The report indicated that the defendants are based in India, and the SEC continues its attempts to serve them, including seeking assistance from Indian officials under the Hague Service Convention for Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters, according to an ET report.ET has examined the SEC’s submission to the magistrate.On November 20, 2024, the SEC lodged its complaint, stating that the accused had breached federal securities regulations by presenting inaccurate and deceptive information about Adani Green Energy Ltd. regarding a debt offering in September 2021.The legal document noted that since the accused reside in India, service must comply with Rule 4(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, permitting the SEC to deliver notices through internationally recognised methods, including the Hague Service Convention.The oversight body mentioned providing earlier updates on April 23 and June 27, 2025, “concerning its ongoing service efforts.”The documentation states, “The SEC has requested assistance from India’s Ministry of Law & Justice (‘India MoLJ’) under Article 5(a) of the Hague Service Convention in serving the Summons and Complaint on Defendants in India.”The document further noted that the organisation “has also sent Notices of Lawsuit and Requests for Waiver of Service of Summons, including copies of the Complaint, directly to Defendants and their counsel, and the SEC has communicated with the India MoLJ.”Nevertheless, the SEC acknowledges “that those authorities have not yet effected service.”The Securities and Exchange Commission informed the court: “The SEC intends to continue communicating with the India MoLJ and pursue service of the Defendants via the Hague Service Convention, and will keep the Court apprised of its efforts.”This civil litigation forms part of a larger series of legal proceedings in US courts involving Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Adani Green Energy Ltd.The SEC’s investigation focuses on CDPQ executives Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, and Deepak Malhotra regarding allegations of evidence destruction and information concealment in a bribery investigation. According to documents examined by ET, the regulatory body has been working to serve the defendant under Rule 4(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in Singapore. Local legal representatives have been actively searching for Cabanes. The SEC noted that they received information suggesting Cabanes has likely left Singapore, and they continue their efforts to locate him across different jurisdictions.