The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settled a civil lawsuit against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani for bribing Indian officials and lying to US investors, according to court documents published on Thursday. The settlement is subject to court approval.
International media reported that the Justice Department was also close to dropping fraud-related criminal charges against Adani.
Court documents show Gautam Adani agreed to pay a civil penalty of $6 million (€5.2 million), while his nephew Sagar Adani, another Adani Green Energy leader, agreed to pay $12 million. The proposed agreement does not involve an admission of guilt.
comes after this the new York Times The report said the US SEC and Justice Department were close to dropping their charges against Adani while imposing financial penalties and receiving a pledge to invest $10 billion in the United States.
US prosecutors filed charges against Adani in 2024 under the administration of former US President Joe Biden.
Adani, a close ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has not faced related investigations in India, while the US charges are primarily about allegedly bribing Indian officials to win a lucrative solar contract in India.
Still, news of the allegations in 2024 dealt a blow to Adani, with shares falling as much as 23%.
Why are the charges against Adani being dropped?
US prosecutors moved to drop charges against Adani shortly after appointing a new group of lawyers led by Roberto Giuffra, one of US President Donald Trump’s personal lawyers. Times The report cited multiple unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter.
The report said that at a meeting between defense lawyers and prosecutors in April, Giuffra went through more than 100 slides explaining why prosecutors lacked basic evidence against Adani and the jurisdiction to bring such a case against him.
In one such slide it was offered that if prosecutors dropped their charges against Adani, the Indian billionaire would invest $10 billion in the US and create 15,000 jobs. The offer is reminiscent of a previous offer made by Adani in a social media post after Trump wins the presidential election in November 2024.
Congratulating Trump, he had then said, “As the partnership between India and the United States deepens, Adani Group is committed to leveraging its global expertise and investing $10 billion in US energy security and resilient infrastructure projects, aiming to create 15,000 jobs.”
Times Prosecutors later reportedly told Adani’s lawyers that the motion would play no role in resolving the charges. But the meeting got at least one favorable response from a senior Justice Department official.
A separate financial penalty will also be decided in the US Treasury Department’s investigation of Adani companies for allegedly shipping Iranian gas in violation of US sanctions, according to the report.
Edited by: Shawn Sinico