US reportedly dropped fraud charges against Indian billionaire after he hired Trump’s lawyer | Trump administration
The US Department of Justice is dropping fraud charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, Asia’s richest man, after he hired a new legal team led by Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, according to new reports.
According to the New York Times and Bloomberg, at an undisclosed meeting at the justice department in April, Trump’s personal lawyer Robert J Giuffra Jr. said Adani would invest $10 billion in the US economy and create 15,000 jobs if prosecutors dropped the charges against him.
Guiffra also reportedly gave a 100-slide presentation explaining why prosecutors lacked evidence and jurisdiction over the case, according to the Times.
Prosecutors said the potential investment would not affect the outcome of the case, but the proposal received a positive response from a senior justice ministry official, media reported.
Adani was accused of conspiring to bribe Indian government officials to the tune of $250 million and misleading American and international investors with false statements. He and two other executives of an Indian renewable energy company were indicted in New York in November 2024 on multiple fraud charges.
At the time, the justice department said Adani planned to “lye to investors and banks and obstruct justice to raise billions of dollars” in addition to paying $250 million in bribes.
“These crimes were allegedly committed by senior executives and directors in order to obtain and finance massive government energy supply contracts through corruption and fraud at the expense of U.S. investors,” said then-deputy attorney general Lisa Miller.
Adani is considered one of the richest and most powerful men in the world as the founder of the Adani Group, a conglomerate that operates Indian ports, builds coal-fired power plants and mines coal mines in the country. according to Bloomberg Billionaires IndexHe is Asia’s richest man, with an estimated net worth of $104 billion.
It has close ties with the country’s nationalist prime minister, Narendra Modi, whose party members have given contracts to the Adani group that allow the group to monopolize and expand. This resulted in allegations of favoritism and “crony capitalism”, which the Adani Group denies. Journalists trying to investigate the company often harassed and charged.
Giuffra is co-chairman of the powerful New York law firm Sullivan & Cromwell. Giuffra shortly before Trump begins his second term we agreed Stormy Daniels will represent Trump in the appeal of two personal lawsuits filed against him, including the hush action.
The justice department and Sullivan & Cromwell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
