Adani Group Us Legal Settlement: DOJ Moves to Drop Fraud Charges
The US Department of Justice moved to dismiss criminal fraud charges against Gautam Adani in the adani group us legal settlement, after he pledged a $10bn investment in the US. A judge must still sign off on the request before the case is finished.
The department said in a short letter to Judge Nicholas Garaufis that it had reviewed the case and decided, in its prosecutorial discretion, not to devote further resources to the criminal charges against individual defendants. The move affects a case that had accused Adani and two co-defendants of bribery tied to Indian government contracts and investor fundraising.
Gautam Adani and the DOJ case
The criminal case was brought under the administration of former US President Joe Biden. Prosecutors said Gautam S Adani, Sagar R Adani and Vneet S Jaain lied about an alleged bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from US and international investors, while Adani Green Energy was accused of bribing officials to win a contract to build the largest solar power plant in India.
Breon Peace, then the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said at the time: “The defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars and Gautam S Adani, Sagar R Adani and Vneet S Jaain lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from US and international investors”.
Robert J Giuffra Jr joins Adani
Gautam Adani appointed Robert J Giuffra Jr to his legal team, and Giuffra is one of US President Donald Trump’s personal attorneys. He said Adani would pledge a $10bn investment in the US, and reported that the investment would bring in 15,000 jobs.
Adani said he wanted to invest in the US but could not do so while the cases proceeded. That leaves the court approval step as the immediate gatekeeper for the federal dismissal, with the criminal case now moving in tandem with the separate civil and regulatory settlements already reached.
Treasury and SEC settlements
Last week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission settled a civil suit with Adani over the alleged bribes. If approved by the court, the SEC agreement would order Gautam Adani and Sagar R Adani to pay civil monetary penalties of $6,000,000 and $12,000,000, respectively.
On Monday, the US Department of the Treasury announced a $275m settlement with Adani over alleged sanctions violations involving Iran. The company was accused of buying liquefied petroleum gas from a Dubai-based trader that purported to supply Omani and Iraqi gas but had actually originated from Iran.
Adani Enterprises has ceased imports of LPG into India and created a head of compliance role to ensure it follows US Treasury Department guidance. For Adani, the immediate practical result is a narrower legal fight in US court and a clearer path toward the investment he said he could not make while the cases were still active.
