US may end fraud prosecution against Gautam Adani: Report

US authorities are moving to resolve fraud charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, potentially ending a criminal case that has hung over Asia’s richest person for more than a year, according to a Bloomberg report. 

The US Justice Department may announce as early this week that it is dropping the charges, the report added citing sources. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is also moving to settle a parallel civil fraud case filed against Adani and others in November 2024. 

A resolution of the cases would mark a significant boost for the Adani Group, whose businesses span coal mining, renewable energy and airports. It would also pave the way for the conglomerate to tap international capital markets again and revive its aggressive expansion plans. 

As per the report, the Justice Department could move to effectively drop the criminal charges since the defendants remain outside the US. However, any settlement with the SEC is likely to involve a monetary penalty. 

In November 2024, the US Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn alleged in a five-count indictment that Adani and other defendants were involved in a $250 million bribery scheme in India aimed at securing solar power contracts. 

The Adani Group has consistently denied the allegations. 

None of the defendants, including Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, have appeared before the court so far, the Bloomberg report added. 

According to the Justice Department, Adani and others allegedly promised bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts and concealed the scheme while raising funds from US investors. 

In its parallel civil complaint, the SEC alleged that Gautam Adani spearheaded efforts to pay or promise hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to Indian officials to secure contracts needed for developing India’s largest solar power plant project. 

While the Justice Department’s prosecution remained stalled due to the absence of the Adanis from the US, the SEC case had started advancing in court. 

Earlier this year, Adani’s lawyers sought dismissal of the SEC’s fraud case, arguing that US regulators lacked jurisdiction and that the alleged misstatements cited in the complaint were not legally actionable.