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Culture War Roundup for the week of November 18, 2024

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So, American investors were victims of fraud because Adanis claimed that their business was above ground in investment rounds. Then used American investment dollars for bribes. That is a crime in the US ?

Yup. This is why the western sanctions regimes can be so disruptive- it is really, really easy to fall into foreign jurisdictions when financial services are in play.

In international contexts, nations can assert jurisdiction fora couple of reasons, including the nationality principle (a state can punish their citizens- and corporate entities- for misconduct abroad), and the territorial principle (a state can punish misconduct on its own territory).

Both are relevant in this case, as using American investment corporations for bribes abroad is a nationality issue, and using the American financial system at all places it in American territory. That it is also in the Indian jurisdiction is irrelevant, though if the Indians wanted to pursue prosecution they'd probably be able to preempt the US effort, but the fact that Adani group is mostly based out of India is irrelevant. 'Mostly' is not enough- any exposure to another authority's jurisdiction is enough to require full compliance with those laws (hence why China or the EU can compel American social media companies to cooperate on censorship as a condition for market access).