"Adani Charges to Test Trump\u2019s Desire to Keep India in US Orbit"

" Adani Charges to Test Trump\u2019s Desire to Keep India in US Orbit \r\n Follow Bloomberg India on WhatsApp for exclusive content and analysis on what billionaires, businesses and markets are doing. Sign up\u00a0here. \r\n In 2018, the arrest of an executive with Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co. for breaching US laws shocked President Xi Jinping\u2019s inner circle and raised questions over whether Donald Trump would intervene in the case. \r\n Trump now faces a similar dilemma after US prosecutors charged Gautam Adani \u2014 India\u2019s most powerful businessman and a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi \u2014 in a $250 million bribery scheme. While Modi\u2019s party called it a private matter, and Adani\u2019s company denied the allegations, the case threatens to roil US-India diplomatic ties. \r\n Although Trump didn\u2019t intervene in the Huawei case, which was eventually settled in 2021 after he left office, on its face he\u2019ll have more incentive to make this case go away. Beyond Trump\u2019s personal connection with Modi, the incoming US president has packed his team with China hawks who want to see stronger ties with India to counterbalance Beijing\u2019s power in the region. \r\n Yet even if Trump does a favor for Adani, who praised the president-elect\u2019s \u201cunbreakable tenacity\u201d after his election win, the case is yet another reminder of the long reach of US law \u2014 one that can affect both friends and foes around the world. A proliferation of American sanctions targeting Russia, China and even India, although it\u2019s mostly gotten waivers, has accelerated the expansion of the BRICS grouping as nations seek an alternative to the US dominance of the financial system. \r\n For India in particular, the charges against Adani only reinforces its strategy to keep a foot in both major camps, staying friendly with the US while also keeping up good ties with Russia, China and other major economies in what\u2019s known as the Global South. India remains reliant on Russian weapons and energy, and soon plans to host Vladimir Putin for the first time since the war began. \r\n \u201cThe indictment of Adani is seen in New Delhi as politically driven and will have a bearing on US-India collaboration and mutual trust unless the incoming Trump administration drops the prosecution,\u201d said Brahma Chellaney, a professor of strategic studies at the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi. \u201cMuch will be depend on how the next US administration seeks to chart the relationship with India.\u201d \r\n India\u2019s Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment when contacted for further information. Trump\u2019s team didn\u2019t respond to requests for further information. \r\n For the moment, it remains unclear if Modi will look to distance himself from Adani. He\u2019s facing a more vocal opposition, who have more than doubled their support in the parliament after elections earlier this year, and are now pushing for federal investigators to probe Adani. Modi\u2019s party suffered a setback in the polls that forced him to govern with coalition partners for the first time. \r\n Even so, if India has a national champion, it\u2019s the Adani Group. Modi and the billionaire share deep links going back decades in their home state of Gujarat, and Adani was instrumental in helping revive the prime minister\u2019s reputation when he came under attack over religious riots in 2002. \r\n After the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei\u2019s founder, the Communist Party eventually portrayed it as an attack on China and celebrated her return, even saying Xi personally gave instructions on the case. \r\n Modi may take a different approach, possibly using his personal ties with Trump and the US\u2019s strategic need for India\u2019s support in the region as leverage. And while Trump shares a mutual admiration with Modi, he\u2019s long called out India for taking advantage of the US on trade. \r\n \u201cI have no doubt that feelers have already been sent out to the Trump team,\u201d said Milan Vaishnav, director and senior fellow of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. \u201cCertainly, the Trump administration could decide not to pursue them or to settle them quickly and with little fanfare. The question, of course, is what will the famously transactional Trump want in return?\u201d \r\n Trump\u2019s Team \r\n Much will depend on who will run the Department of Justice. Trump personally has been prosecuted in a number of cases he says are politically motivated. His initial nomination of Matt Gaetz as attorney general and his subsequent pick of longtime ally Pam Bondi suggests there will be fewer guardrails on intervening in politically sensitive cases. \r\n Trump has already nominated several key people to his team who are pro-India supporters. Marco Rubio, Trump\u2019s pick for secretary of state, introduced a bill to the US Senate in July to boost defense ties with India and treat the South Asian nation as a NATO ally like Japan. Mike Waltz, who Trump has chosen as his national security adviser, was a guest of Modi at India\u2019s Republic Day celebrations last year. \r\n The US government will have its own balancing act to manage. It gave Adani an endorsement last year when the US International Development Finance Corp. announced it would provide $553 million in financing to one of his business units for a port terminal in Sri Lanka\u2019s capital, marking the government agency\u2019s largest infrastructure investment in Asia. It\u2019s unclear whether that project will still go forward. \r\n \u201cWe continue to conduct due diligence to ensure that all aspects of the project meet our rigorous standards before any loan disbursements are made,\u201d an official from the US International Development Finance Corp. said in response to emailed questions. \u201cThe project has not reached financial close or signed a loan agreement.\u201d \r\n For India, which has leaned closer to the US in recent years, the Adani case only underscores the risks of jumping too far into the American camp. Tensions had already been high after US prosecutors accused an Indian government employee of directing a foiled plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist with US citizenship in New York. \r\n India\u2019s top diplomat, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, once described the nation\u2019s foreign policy in terms of \u201chedging.\u201d That approach has allowed it to maintain friendly ties with the US and its allies while also remaining on good terms with Putin, who is a key supplier of oil and weapons. \r\n \u201cIndia might be more cautious in diversifying its economic and strategic interests but the Modi government recognizes that the US is the most powerful country in the world and India can\u2019t take it head on,\u201d said Sushant Singh, a lecturer of South Asian studies at Yale University. "

"Adani Charges to Test Trump\u2019s Desire to Keep India in US Orbit"

Global 5G Connections Projected to Reach 9 Billion by 2030AMP

World Bank Court Blocks Niger From Selling Uranium From Somaïr MineAMP

Ghana’s per Capita Income Could Triple By 2050 With Bold Reforms – World Bank Says AMP

The National Security Implications of Illegal Gold Mining in GhanaAMP

The Galamsey Fight, Jobs, and LivelihoodsAMP

AGI Reports Improved Dollar Supply, Applauds Recent BoG FX Measures AMP

ECG Cancels Over 200 Contracts in Procurement Clean-UpAMP

Harry Kane Makes History: Fastest to Reach 100 Goals for Bayern MunichAMP

Manchester United Unveils Plans for Canopy-Free Old Trafford UpgradeAMP

Global 5G Connections Projected to Reach 9 Billion by 2030AMP

World Bank Court Blocks Niger From Selling Uranium From Somaïr MineAMP

Ghana’s per Capita Income Could Triple By 2050 With Bold Reforms – World Bank Says AMP

The National Security Implications of Illegal Gold Mining in GhanaAMP

The Galamsey Fight, Jobs, and LivelihoodsAMP