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Newsmakers of the Week MAY 29, 2026 | The Indian Eye 34

NEWSMAKERS OF THE WEEK

Selected stories about Indian diaspora from our website www.theindianeye.com

GAUTAM ADANI ASHVIN DAYAL
US SEC settles civil lawsuit against Rockefeller Foundation names

Indian group new COO

ew York, NY: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday ew York, NY: The Rockefeller Foundation announced that Ashvin Dayal
(local time) settled a civil lawsuit against Adani Group Chairman Gautam has been named Chief Operating Officer (COO). Mr. Dayal, who has
NAdani, subject to court approval, reported Reuters citing court records. Nbeen at the Foundation since 2008 and worked in development institu-
According to media reports, Court documents show that Gautam Adani tions, programs, and operations for decades, will succeed Natalye Paquin, who
agreed to pay civil penalties of $6 million, while his nephew Sagar Adani, will retire on August 1, 2026.
agreed to pay $12 million. The proposed settlement doesn’t include an admis- “Natalye leaves behind a Foundation that is more capable, more connected,
sion of guilt, said news reports. and more human than the one she joined — and all of us owe her an enormous
The US SEC had earlier alleged that Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and debt of gratitude for that,” said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller
others orchestrated an alleged USD 250 million-plus bribery scheme between Foundation. “And I can think of no one better to build on her legacy than Ash-
2020 and 2024 to secure solar energy contracts in India. vin. During his 17 years at the Foundation, he has demonstrated again and again
On April 8, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York the ability to build for the long term — developing teams, forging partnerships,
had accepted a plea filed by the counsels for Gautam and Sagar Adani for a making big bets, and building operations that deliver real results. Now, he brings
pre-motion conference to dismiss the case. that same vision and operational discipline to ensuring The Rockefeller Founda-
The councils for Gautam and Sagar Adani informed that they intended to tion has the structures, systems, and talent to meet this moment.”
seek to dismiss the US SEC’s complaint and, as part of this process, have sub- As COO, Mr. Dayal will oversee the 113-year-old philanthropic organiza-
mitted a letter with the East District New York (EDNY) judge informing the tion’s Connected Leaders Program, Bellagio Center, Foundation Services, Hu-
Court that the Defendants are prepared to attend a pre-motion conference man Resources, Information Technology, Finance, and Legal teams, as well as its
should the Court wish to schedule one. workforce and offices in the United States, Africa, Asia, Colombia, and Italy. He
In the letter, the Defendants briefly set out their grounds for dismissal of will also serve as President of RF Catalytic Capital, which, as the charitable off-
SEC’s complaint, including that the court concerned lacks personal jurisdiction shoot of The Rockefeller Foundation, has a mission to channel funding to places
over the Defendants and the claims against them, the SEC’s claims are imper- and people in a faster and more efficient manner, serving both investors and
missibly extraterritorial, the alleged misstatements by the Defendants are too recipients with visionary solutions that help solve today’s most urgent challenges.
vague and general for any reasonable investor to rely upon as a guarantee of “The Rockefeller Foundation has a unique ability to shape the solutions,
any concrete fact or outcome, making them in-actionable, and the Defendants’ build the institutions, and mobilize the resources needed to bring opportunity
lack of involvement in the transaction bars the SEC’s claims against them. and change in an ever more dynamic world,” said Mr. Dayal. “I’ve seen firsthand
According to the counsels, in September 2021, AGEL conducted a USD what our Foundation can do when its operational engine is firing on all cylinders.
750 million bond offering pursuant to SEC Rule 144A and SEC Regulation S, I look forward to working with Raj and the entire Rockefeller Foundation team
which are registration exemptions for private resales to qualified institution- to strengthen the systems, deepen our partnerships, and build the organizational
al buyers (QIBs) and non-US sales. AGEL sold these bonds outside the US excellence that will allow us to keep delivering on our century-long promise to
through an agreement to non-US underwriters, who then resold the Notes to improve the well-being of people around the world.”
QIBs. A fraction of those resales is alleged to have been made to “investors in Mr. Dayal joined The Rockefeller Foundation in 2008 as its Asia Managing
the United States”. AGEL was not a party to these transactions, the lawyers Director, running the Foundation’s regional office in Bangkok, where he led the
said in the letter to the court. Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network — a nine-year partnership that
The defendants said that the grounds for dismissal also include the SEC’s equipped more than 50 cities across the continent to better withstand climate impacts.
failure to state a claim on the basis that the defendants are neither based in
the US nor conduct activities there that would grant the court jurisdiction and To read more about Indian diaspora and Global Indians, log on to and follow
the alleged actions involve non-US entities outside the scope of US law. our website www.TheIndianEYE.com

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