Foundation of India-US ties strong: White House confident of handling crisis over Adani bribery allegations

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani speaks during an inauguration ceremony at Haifa Port in Israel on January 31, 2023 after Adani Group completed the purchase of Haifa Port in January 2023. Photo courtesy: Reuters

Saying that relations between India and the US are built on a strong foundation, the White House has expressed confidence that it can deal with the ongoing crisis over bribery allegations against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily press conference on Thursday (November 21, 2024) that the administration is aware of the allegations against Mr. Adani.

Mr Adani has been accused by US prosecutors of allegedly being part of a scheme to pay bribes of more than $250 million (about ₹2,100 crore) to Indian officials in exchange for favorable terms for solar power contracts.

“Obviously we are aware of these allegations, and I will have to refer you to the SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission] and DOJ [Department of Justice] About the specifics of those allegations against the Adani Group,” she said.

“What I would say on the US-India relationship is that we believe it stands on an extremely strong foundation based on the ties between our peoples and cooperation across the full range of global issues,” Ms Jean-Pierre said.

“We believe and we are confident that we will continue to move forward on this issue just as we have other issues that may come up as you just said. And so the specificity of it, that’s something that the SEC and DOJ can talk about directly, but again, we believe that… this relationship between India and the US is built on a strong foundation,” the press secretary said. Said.