The US Department of Justice moved on Monday to dismiss criminal fraud charges against Gautam Adani, after the billionaire pledged a $10bn investment in the United States. The request still needs the approval of Judge Nicholas Garaufis in the Eastern District of New York.
The department said it had decided, in its prosecutorial discretion, not to devote further resources to the criminal charges against the individual defendants. The move could ease one of the most serious legal threats facing Adani, whose wealth is estimated at $108bn and who is ranked as the 17th richest person in the world.
Robert J Giuffra Jr, who joined Adani's legal team, said Adani would make the $10bn commitment. reported that the investment would bring in 15,000 jobs, though Adani said he wanted to invest in the US but could not do so while the cases proceeded. The timing gives the company a potential opening in Washington after months in which its founder faced a widening legal fight.
The original case, brought under the Biden administration, accused Gautam Adani, Sagar R Adani and Vneet S Jaain of bribing officials to secure solar energy contracts and of lying to US investors while raising capital. Prosecutors said Breon Peace that the defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to win contracts worth billions of dollars, and alleged that Adani Green Energy was involved in bribing officials to secure a contract to build the largest solar power plant in India. They said Gautam Adani and his alleged co-conspirators raised more than $3bn in the process.
The dismissal request does not erase the rest of the pressure. Last week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission settled a civil suit with Adani over the alleged bribes, and on Monday the US Department of the Treasury announced a $275m settlement with the group over alleged sanctions violations involving Iran. In that case, Adani Enterprises was accused of buying liquefied petroleum gas from a Dubai-based trader that purported to supply Omani and Iraqi gas that had actually originated from Iran.
Adani Enterprises has since ceased imports of LPG into India and created a head of compliance role to make sure it follows US Treasury Department guidance. The company is still navigating the fallout from the separate US cases, even as the criminal fraud charges now move toward possible dismissal. Whether Garaufis signs off will determine how far the company’s legal reset can go.
