The United States is set to drop criminal fraud charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani after he agreed to pay $18m (£14.2m) to settle a civil fraud lawsuit with the American securities regulator.
Adani, 63, is the chairman of the Adani Group, one of India's largest conglomerates with interests spanning energy, ports, airports and infrastructure, and is worth an estimated $82bn according to Forbes, making him one of the world's richest people.
He and his nephew Sagar Adani agreed to the settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which is subject to court approval and does not include any admission or denial of the allegations.
The New York Times reported on Thursday that the Justice Department was preparing to drop its criminal fraud charges against Adani, his nephew and former Adani Green Energy chief executive Vneet Jaain, who had been charged with securities fraud, conspiracy and wire fraud.
The reversal came after Adani hired a new legal team led by Robert J Giuffra Jr, one of President Donald Trump's personal lawyers and co-chairman of the prominent firm Sullivan & Cromwell – the same lawyer Trump retained to appeal against his criminal conviction in the hush-money payment case.
The SEC had accused the Adanis in 2024 of paying approximately $265m in bribes to Indian government officials to secure lucrative solar energy contracts capable of generating close to $2bn in profits over 20 years, while misleading US investors about the company's anti-bribery practices during a bond offering that raised $750m, including around $175m from US investors.
The settlement also bars the Adanis from future violations of key US anti-fraud laws covering investor deception, securities fraud and market manipulation. The Adani Group has consistently called the allegations baseless.
According to NYT, Mr Giuffra met last month with Justice Department officials at its Washington headquarters, presenting around 100 slides arguing that prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence and jurisdiction to bring the case.
The meeting also included an unusual offer: if prosecutors dropped the charges, Adani would invest $10bn in the US economy and create 15,000 jobs – repeating a pledge Mr Adani had made to Mr Trump shortly after his 2024 election victory.
While prosecutors said the investment proposal would "play no role" in the outcome of the proceedings, sources told The Times the offer received a "favourable response" from Justice Department officials.
Adani Group shares rose on Friday following the news.
The criminal indictment, announced in November 2024, accused Mr Adani and his associates of orchestrating a bribery scheme to secure contracts for one of India's largest renewable energy projects, while raising more than $3bn through loans and bond offerings from international investors without disclosing the alleged corruption. At the time the charges were filed, none of the accused were in US custody, and arrest warrants had been secured to be shared with international law enforcement agencies.
The Independent has reached out to Adani group for comment.