After U.S. SEC, Treasury and Justice departments offer Adani legal relief
Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani Group, visits the VIP wharf ghat during the Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, India, on January 21, 2025. Photographer: Indranil Aditya/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s legal troubles in the United States are nearing an end as authorities begin closing investigations against the businessman and his firm on charges of bribery, fraud and Iran-sanctioned energy purchases.
U.S. Treasury Department on Monday concluded the case filed against Adani Enterprises, The Adani Group’s flagship company includes the purchase of sanctioned Iranian energy between November 2023 and June 2025.
The Indian firm agreed to pay $275 million to settle potential civil liability for apparent OFAC violations. [Office of Foreign Assets Control] According to the official statement, sanctions will be imposed on Iran.
The US regulator said the company bought a shipment of liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, from a Dubai-based trader who “allegedly supplied Omani and Iraqi gas” but overlooked red flags that the supplies were of Iranian origin.
He added that the agreement reflects that “the violations were serious and were not voluntarily disclosed.”
Adani Group did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
The Adani group runs a sprawling business empire of several publicly traded companies, covering ports, energy and infrastructure, and the Adani family holds majority stakes in many companies.
Relief in DOJ investigation
In another major relief for the Indian business group, the US Department of Justice also said it would do so. dropping criminal charges Gautam Adani is being investigated for bribery and fraud, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
The Justice Department’s move was expected after the Securities and Exchange Commission moved last week to resolve a civil lawsuit it filed against Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani.
The SEC civil lawsuit alleged that the two men misled investors as part of a bribery and fraud scheme tied to solar energy contracts in India; the same accusations were also being investigated by the Department of Justice.
The Justice Department reviewed the case and “decided not to devote further resources to these charges” against Adani and others, according to the WSJ report.
In November 2024, a New York federal court indicted Adani and seven others on charges related to a massive bribery and fraud scheme; Adani Group, however, rejected this as “baseless”.
People were accused of securing solar power supply contracts by paying more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to reap more than $2 billion in profits.
Although the alleged conduct at the center of the DOJ case occurred in India, the defendants were accused of misleading U.S. and international investors about their companies’ compliance with anti-bribery and anti-corruption practices and raising more than $3 billion to finance these energy contracts.
According to a New York Times report last week, Adani’s legal team Businessman was willing to invest $10 billion If the Department of Justice drops the charges, 15,000 jobs will be created in the American economy.
The recent easing of legal uncertainty in the US could help reopen international capital markets for Adani Group and accelerate its renewable energy and infrastructure expansion plans.
The group is almost 2.78 trillion rupees According to company data, it has net debt (approximately 32 billion dollars) as of September last year. 41% of Adani Group’s total debt is held by global banks and capital markets.
— CNBC’s April Roach contributed to this report.
