US authorities reportedly reconsider fraud charges against Gautam Adani

Reports say Adani hired Donald Trump’s personal lawyer to lead legal defence, reportedly offered major US investment

United S authorities are moving towards resolving fraud charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani after he reportedly hired a new legal team led by US President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, according to reports published by Bloomberg News and The New York Times on Thursday.

Gautam and his nephew Sagar Adani were charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in November 2024 with allegedly orchestrating a scheme to pay or promise hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to Indian government officials in order to benefit Adani Green Energy, where both serve as executives and directors.

Gautam was accused of conspiring to pay $250 million in bribes to Indian officials and misleading American and international investors through false statements. He and two other executives of an Indian renewable energy company were indicted in New York and charged with multiple counts of fraud in November 2024.

Read: Adani will seek to dismiss fraud case in US

At the time, the US Department of Justice had alleged that, in addition to paying $250m in bribes, Adani also conspired “to lie to investors and banks to raise billions of dollars, and to obstruct justice”.

In a filing submitted to the federal court in Brooklyn, New York, lawyers representing the Adanis said their clients disputed that there was any credible evidence supporting the alleged bribery scheme.

According to the reports, Trump’s personal lawyer, Robert J. Giuffra Jr., attended an undisclosed meeting at the Justice Department in April, during which he said Adani would invest $10 biilion in the US economy and create 15,000 jobs if prosecutors dropped the charges against him.

The reports added that Giuffra presented approximately 100 slides outlining why prosecutors allegedly lacked evidence and jurisdiction in the case.

Gautam is reportedly in talks over a potential settlement ranging between $15-$20m in a civil fraud case, according to reports citing a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the confidential nature of the discussions. The person said Gautam would personally pay a portion of the amount.

The conglomerate is also nearing an agreement to pay approximately $275m to settle a separate probe by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, according to another person familiar with the matter.

Also Read: Adani group exits consumer goods venture in $2b deal

Prosecutors reportedly said that the potential investment would not influence the outcome of the matter, although the offer received a favourable response from one senior Justice Department official.

Gautam, 63, is the founder and chairman of the Adani Group and also serves as chairman of Adani Green.

He is regarded as one of the world’s wealthiest and most influential businessmen through his conglomerate, which operates ports, coal-fired power plants and coal mines across India. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, he is Asia’s richest man with an estimated net worth of $104b.