One of the world’s wealthiest individuals, Indian conglomerate leader Gautam Adani, has closed a high-stakes civil case with U.S. regulators through an $18 million joint penalty settlement with his nephew, Sagar Adani, even as federal prosecutors prepare to dismiss related criminal fraud charges in a surprising policy shift under the second Trump administration.
The civil resolution stems from a 2024 enforcement action brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which alleged that the Adanis paid improper bribes to Indian government officials to secure major renewable energy project contracts. The regulator also claimed the pair misled U.S.-based investors about the conglomerate’s anti-bribery compliance protocols when launching a $750 million bond offering, roughly a quarter of which — $175 million — was raised from American investors.
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, neither Gautam Adani, chairman of the sprawling Adani Group, nor his nephew are required to admit or deny the SEC’s allegations. The agreement does, however, permanently bar the two men from future violations of core U.S. securities laws that prohibit investor deception, fraudulent trading, and market manipulation. The deal still requires formal approval from a federal judge to take effect.
News of the civil settlement triggered an immediate positive reaction from global markets, with publicly traded Adani Group shares posting noticeable gains during Friday trading sessions.
The Adani Group, one of India’s largest diversified business conglomerates, maintains operations across a wide range of critical sectors, including renewable and traditional energy, port infrastructure, and airport management. The conglomerate has repeatedly rejected the SEC’s claims as unfounded since they were first filed. Gautam Adani, 63, boasts an estimated net worth of $82 billion according to Forbes, placing him among the top 10 wealthiest people globally.
In a parallel development reported Thursday by major international news outlets including The New York Times, Reuters, and Bloomberg, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is moving to dismiss the separate criminal fraud case against the Indian billionaire.
The DOJ’s about-face follows a high-profile strategic shift by Adani, who retained a new legal team led by prominent Washington power attorney Robert J. Giuffra Jr. Giuffra, who leads one of the most influential law firms in the United States, previously served as one of former President Donald Trump’s personal legal advisors, most recently leading Trump’s appeal of his conviction in the New York hush-money criminal case.
Per The New York Times’ reporting, Giuffra held a closed-door meeting with senior DOJ officials last month to outline his client’s objections to the criminal prosecution. During that meeting, Giuffra also reiterated a public pledge Adani made to Trump shortly after his 2024 presidential election victory: the conglomerate would invest $10 billion in U.S. infrastructure and projects, creating an estimated 15,000 American jobs, if the criminal charges were dropped.
Sources familiar with the decision told the Times that the planned dismissal aligns with a broader policy shift by the second Trump administration to deprioritize prosecution of foreign bribery cases under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The BBC has reached out to both the DOJ and Adani Group for official comment on the developments, as of press time.