From Trump’s defense attorney to a former Mafia prosecutor, Adani hires a battery of high profile attorneys in the US

The senior Adani has appointed law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP with Robert Giuffra leading the team representing him, as per a court filing dated 30 January. Giuffra is one of the most prominent white-collar crime defence attorneys in the US, having represented US President Donald Trump and German carmaker Volkswagen.

Giuffra is leading Trump’s appeal against his conviction in the hush money case, in which a Manhattan jury found the US President guilty of falsifying business records to pay a former adult film actor to keep their alleged involvement private.

Giuffra also represented Volkswagen in its multibillion dollar ‘diesel-gate’ scandal for cheating on emissions tests. He was the national coordinating counsel for the German firm and negotiated a $14.7 billion settlement with US regulators.

He successfully defended Goldman Sachs in a class action suit emanating from the 2008 global financial crisis.

Nicolas Bourtin, also from Sullivan & Cromwell, is part of Adani’s defence team. Bourtin was earlier an assistant US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, where the SEC is litigating Adani. During his stint as a public prosecutor, he successfully prosecuted the senior leadership of several New York City mafia families for racketeering, murder and extortion.

Three other attorneys from Sullivan & Cromwell—Suhana Han, James McDonald and Andrew DeFilippis—will also represent the Adani Group chairperson, as per the court filings.

Sagar Adani has hired Timothy D Sini, a partner at Nixon Peabody LLP, as his attorney. D Sini also comes with public prosecution experience, having served as Suffolk County District Attorney. He specializes in matters involving government investigations or charges brought by regulatory agencies like the SEC.

Jean Carroll case

The younger Adani has also appointed Sean Hecker, founding partner of boutique law firm Hecker Fink LLP, as his attorney. Hecker is a leading trial lawyer. Hecker Fink most notably represented E. Jean Carroll in her successful lawsuits against Donald Trump. A jury verdict in May 2023 found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, and ordered him to pay $5 million in damages.

Emails to these attorneys requesting comment went unanswered. The Adani Group did not comment either.

Gautam Adani had earlier hired Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP. However, when Adani made his first submission to the court last month, it was drafted by the folks at Sullivan Cromwell. It is unclear whether the Adani Group has retained the services of Kirkland & Ellis and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.

What are the allegations?

On 20 November 2024, US prosecutors claimed that $250 million in bribes were paid to unnamed Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms on solar power contracts awarded to Adani Green Energy Ltd and Azure Power Global Ltd, another New Delhi-based company.

The US Department of Justice indicted eight individuals for allegedly paying more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials from 2020 to 2024 to obtain lucrative solar-energy contracts. The SEC initiated a parallel proceeding against the Adani kin and a separate proceeding against Cyril Cabanes, a former Azure Power executive.

According to the indictment against the Adanis, Adani Green Energy raised $2 billion from US and foreign investors based on false and misleading statements about the company’s anti-corruption and anti-bribery efforts. For this reason, the US Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation, while the SEC is pursuing a civil investigation against Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani.

The Adani Group has denied the allegations, calling them "baseless" and reaffirming its commitment to maintaining the highest standards of governance and compliance.