In a big breather to Adani Group, US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order instructing the Department of Justice to pause the enforcement of an almost five-decade-older law. This is the same law used for probing Gautam Adani in the bribery case.
The US President signed the order to halt the enforcement of the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). This US law prohibits US citizens and businesses from bribing foreign officials. The FCPA mandates that businesses maintain precise records and implement internal controls. Now, American companies and foreign firms will be able to bribe foreign governments and officials to obtain favours in business.
The new order will help Adani Group’s Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, who were allegedly involved in a bribery case with some Indian government officials to win favourable contracts.
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In November 2024, the US summoned Gautam Adani to clarify their position on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) allegation of paying a bribe of $265 million, which makes up to around Rs 2,200 crore, to Indian government officials to secure lucrative solar power contracts.
The same order that Trump signed asked “the Attorney General to review guidelines and policies governing investigations and enforcement actions under the FCPA” in 180 days.
“During the review period, the Attorney General shall cease initiation of any new FCPA investigations or enforcement actions, unless the Attorney General determines that an individual exception should be made,” it said.
Also, it sought to “review in detail all existing FCPA investigations or enforcement actions and take appropriate action with respect to such matters to restore proper bounds on FCPA enforcement and preserve Presidential foreign policy prerogatives.”
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