Washington, Nov 22 – President-elect Donald Trump has announced Florida’s former Attorney General, Pam Bondi, as his nominee for U.S. Attorney General. The announcement came hours after Matt Gaetz, Trump’s initial choice, withdrew his name following controversy over allegations of sexual misconduct.

“Today, I am proud to announce Pam Bondi as our next Attorney General of the United States,” Trump said in a statement on Thursday. He praised Bondi’s two decades of experience as a prosecutor and her tenure as Florida’s first female Attorney General, during which she tackled violent crime and led efforts to combat drug trafficking and the Fentanyl crisis.

“Pam will refocus the Department of Justice on fighting crime and Making America Safe Again. She is smart, tough, and an AMERICA FIRST Fighter,” Trump stated, adding that Bondi would help restore the DOJ’s integrity after alleging it had been weaponized against Republicans.

Gaetz, a former Congressman, withdrew his nomination earlier in the day, citing concerns that his confirmation process had become a distraction. “While the momentum was strong, it’s clear my confirmation was unfairly becoming a needless distraction from the critical work of the Trump Transition,” Gaetz wrote on social media.

He emphasized his ongoing commitment to Trump’s vision, stating, “I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me and remain committed to his success as our President.”

Trump acknowledged Gaetz’s withdrawal and praised his dedication. “Matt has a bright future ahead, and I look forward to seeing all the great things he will accomplish,” he said.

The nomination of Bondi signals Trump’s intent to reshape the Department of Justice as part of his administration’s broader agenda.

New Delhi, Nov 21 : Realty firm Signature Global Ltd is on track to surpass its sales bookings target of ₹10,000 crore for the 2024-25 fiscal year, driven by robust demand in Gurugram’s housing market, according to Chairman Pradeep Aggarwal.

In an interview with PTI, Aggarwal revealed that the company has already achieved sales bookings worth ₹5,900 crore in the first half of this fiscal year.

“We had set a bold pre-sales guidance of ₹10,000 crore for this fiscal year, making us one of the few listed real estate developers to aim so high. With our strong performance in the first six months, we are confident about exceeding this target,” he said.

Aggarwal highlighted a strong pipeline of launches for the second half of the fiscal year, coupled with inventories from ongoing and upcoming projects, which are expected to contribute significantly to sales.

Signature Global’s sales bookings more than tripled to ₹5,900 crore during April-September 2024-25, compared to ₹1,860 crore in the same period last year. The company recorded ₹7,270 crore in sales bookings for the entire 2023-24 fiscal year.

The company, which has a dominant presence in Gurugram, is also actively exploring new opportunities in Noida, Greater Noida, and along the Yamuna Expressway, Aggarwal added. It continues to evaluate land acquisition proposals to expand its footprint in the Gurugram market.

Earlier this month, Signature Global reported a consolidated net profit of ₹4.15 crore for the quarter ending September, reversing a net loss of ₹19.92 crore in the same period last year. Total income surged to ₹777.42 crore in Q2 of this fiscal year, up from ₹121.16 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

To date, Signature Global has delivered 11 million square feet of housing area and has a robust development pipeline, comprising 32.2 million square feet of saleable area in upcoming projects and 16.4 million square feet in ongoing projects.

New York/New Delhi, Nov 21 : Billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged by US prosecutors in connection with an alleged years-long scheme to bribe Indian officials with $250 million in exchange for favorable terms on solar power contracts.

Adani, 62, along with his nephew Sagar Adani and other defendants, is accused of paying over $250 million in bribes between 2020 and 2024 to secure lucrative solar energy contracts potentially worth over $2 billion in profits. The scheme was allegedly concealed from US banks and investors who funded the Adani Group’s solar projects.

US law allows the prosecution of foreign corruption cases that involve links to US investors or markets. The Adani Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, described the scheme as an “elaborate” effort to bribe Indian government officials for billions of dollars in contracts.

The charges include securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, and wire fraud conspiracy against Adani, his nephew Sagar, and former Adani Green Energy CEO Vneet Jaain. Additionally, a civil case has been filed against the Adanis by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The indictment also accuses Sagar and Jaain of violating federal laws. Three former employees of Canadian pension fund CDPQ, a shareholder in Adani companies, are charged for obstructing the bribery investigation by deleting emails and providing false information to the US authorities.

The charges come at a time when the Adani Group is already recovering from the damage caused by Hindenburg Research’s allegations of stock manipulation and accounting fraud in January 2023. The group’s market value had dropped by $150 billion but has since regained most of the losses.

The charges focus on Adani Green’s efforts to raise over $175 million from US investors, with Azure Power’s stock also being traded on the New York Stock Exchange during the alleged bribery.

In the court documents, some conspirators reportedly referred to Gautam Adani as “Numero Uno” and “the big man,” while his nephew allegedly tracked the bribes on his cellphone.

US authorities revealed that FBI agents seized electronic devices from Sagar Adani in March 2023 as part of their investigation. Additional charges were brought against Ranjit Gupta and Rupesh Agarwal, former executives of Azure Power, for their involvement in the bribery scheme.

The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York unsealed the indictment, charging five others with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in relation to the bribery scheme linked to one of the world’s largest solar energy projects.