GUWAHATI: The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has dropped criminal fraud charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and several officials linked to the Adani Group, days after the conglomerate agreed to settle a separate civil investigation.
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Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of the Adani Group, has also agreed to pay $275 million (around ₹2,300 crore) to the US Treasury to settle allegations related to sanctions violations involving Iran. According to reports, the company was accused of purchasing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from a Dubai-based trader that claimed to supply Omani and Iraqi gas, which investigators alleged had actually originated from Iran.
Following the development, shares of multiple Adani Group companies, including Adani Enterprises, Adani Green Energy, Adani Power, Adani Ports, Adani Energy and Adani Total Gas, rose by up to 3.5% in market trading.
Media reports suggested that the decision to drop the charges reflects a broader shift under US President Donald Trump’s administration away from aggressively pursuing foreign bribery-related prosecutions.
The criminal fraud case had been filed in 2024, when the US DOJ accused Gautam Adani and officials of Adani Green Energy of allegedly paying bribes to Indian officials to secure renewable energy contracts, including a major solar power project. Prosecutors had also alleged that investors in the United States were misled about the company’s anti-corruption practices.
According to the allegations, Adani and the accused officials had raised more than $3 billion from investors while concealing information related to the alleged bribery scheme. Gautam Adani and the Adani Group had denied all allegations made in the case.
Gautam Adani, 63, is among the world’s richest individuals, with Forbes estimating his net worth at around $82 billion. The Adani Group has business interests across sectors such as ports, airports, energy, logistics and infrastructure.