Billionaire Gautam Adani’s efforts to get US fraud charges against him resolved have stalled, according to people familiar with the matter, prolonging the regulatory overhang that has hobbled the Adani Group’s global expansion plans.
Progress Adani’s representatives had been making with American officials has faltered in recent months as the US and India have clashed on issues like trade, Russian oil and India’s conflict with Pakistan, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the talks are private.
Trump administration officials have signaled to the tycoon’s representatives — which include a roster of high-powered lawyers in the US — that there will be no deal to end the cases over an alleged bribery scheme as long as bilateral tensions between the two countries remain heightened, the people said.
Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, continue to pursue the criminal case that became public in late 2024, said another person, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential.
The Adani Group and the White House did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The Justice Department declined to comment.
Serving Legal Papers
Adani faces a parallel civil lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission that was announced alongside the Justice Department charges late last year. In August, an SEC lawyer told a federal judge that the agency was still trying to serve the Adanis with legal papers. That effort includes a request to Indian authorities for assistance, according to the Aug. 11 filing.
The SEC declined to comment beyond the filing.
Meanwhile, tension between the two countries, which included the US imposing a 50% tariff on goods imported from India, has appeared to soften. Trump in recent days called Narendra Modi a “great prime minister” and a friend. Trump has nominated White House personnel chief Sergio Gor to become ambassador to India, but he still needs to be confirmed by the Senate.
US prosecutors, in a five-count indictment in November, alleged Adani and other defendants helped drive a $250 million bribery scheme in India to lock in solar-power contracts. The Adani Group has consistently denied the charges. None of the defendants, including Adani, have appeared in court so far over the charges.
In negotiations to resolve the matter, which began earlier this year, Adani’s representatives have tried to make the case that his prosecution doesn’t align Trump’s priorities and should be reconsidered, Bloomberg News reported in May.
The stalled talks are a disappointment to the Adani camp, which was optimistic earlier this spring that it was nearing a resolution, some of the people said.
The situation constrains the tycoon, who cannot travel to the US given the risk of getting arrested.
While the Indian conglomerate has partially bounced back from the blow of the indictment, raised funds from global lenders and made bids for big-ticket acquisitions in India, the bribery probe remains a regulatory overhang. It is also an obstacle in tapping US lenders or closing business deals.
For example, France’s TotalEnergies SE, a partner in Adani Total Gas Ltd., said in November that it will not make any new financial contributions to the conglomerate until these accusations “have been clarified.” The group has also lost overseas contracts, like a $2.6 billion airport and power transmission deal in Kenya. A plan to invest $10 billion in the US, announced after Trump won the presidential election, is on hold.
Collateral Damage
In different ways, India’s two richest men risk becoming collateral damage in the geopolitical push-and—pull between Washington and New Delhi.
Adani’s compatriot Mukesh Ambani, has seen his Reliance Industries Ltd. targeted indirectly by Trump’s aides, who claim that India’s oil refiners have been “war profiteering” by buying cheap Russian oil. Last month, the Ambani family postponed a theatrical extravaganza to highlight Indian culture in New York City that was to be hosted by matriarch Nita Ambani.
Modi, meanwhile, has made overtures signaling India is moving closer to Russia and China. Adani too made a well-publicized visit to China earlier this year, and is exploring a deal for lithium-ion battery making technology with China’s biggest EV maker, BYD Co., Bloomberg News reported last month.
Progress Adani’s representatives had been making with American officials has faltered in recent months as the US and India have clashed on issues like trade, Russian oil and India’s conflict with Pakistan, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the talks are private.
Trump administration officials have signaled to the tycoon’s representatives — which include a roster of high-powered lawyers in the US — that there will be no deal to end the cases over an alleged bribery scheme as long as bilateral tensions between the two countries remain heightened, the people said.
Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, continue to pursue the criminal case that became public in late 2024, said another person, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential.
The Adani Group and the White House did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The Justice Department declined to comment.
Serving Legal Papers
Adani faces a parallel civil lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission that was announced alongside the Justice Department charges late last year. In August, an SEC lawyer told a federal judge that the agency was still trying to serve the Adanis with legal papers. That effort includes a request to Indian authorities for assistance, according to the Aug. 11 filing.
The SEC declined to comment beyond the filing.
Meanwhile, tension between the two countries, which included the US imposing a 50% tariff on goods imported from India, has appeared to soften. Trump in recent days called Narendra Modi a “great prime minister” and a friend. Trump has nominated White House personnel chief Sergio Gor to become ambassador to India, but he still needs to be confirmed by the Senate.
US prosecutors, in a five-count indictment in November, alleged Adani and other defendants helped drive a $250 million bribery scheme in India to lock in solar-power contracts. The Adani Group has consistently denied the charges. None of the defendants, including Adani, have appeared in court so far over the charges.
In negotiations to resolve the matter, which began earlier this year, Adani’s representatives have tried to make the case that his prosecution doesn’t align Trump’s priorities and should be reconsidered, Bloomberg News reported in May.
The stalled talks are a disappointment to the Adani camp, which was optimistic earlier this spring that it was nearing a resolution, some of the people said.
The situation constrains the tycoon, who cannot travel to the US given the risk of getting arrested.
While the Indian conglomerate has partially bounced back from the blow of the indictment, raised funds from global lenders and made bids for big-ticket acquisitions in India, the bribery probe remains a regulatory overhang. It is also an obstacle in tapping US lenders or closing business deals.
For example, France’s TotalEnergies SE, a partner in Adani Total Gas Ltd., said in November that it will not make any new financial contributions to the conglomerate until these accusations “have been clarified.” The group has also lost overseas contracts, like a $2.6 billion airport and power transmission deal in Kenya. A plan to invest $10 billion in the US, announced after Trump won the presidential election, is on hold.
Collateral Damage
In different ways, India’s two richest men risk becoming collateral damage in the geopolitical push-and—pull between Washington and New Delhi.
Adani’s compatriot Mukesh Ambani, has seen his Reliance Industries Ltd. targeted indirectly by Trump’s aides, who claim that India’s oil refiners have been “war profiteering” by buying cheap Russian oil. Last month, the Ambani family postponed a theatrical extravaganza to highlight Indian culture in New York City that was to be hosted by matriarch Nita Ambani.
Modi, meanwhile, has made overtures signaling India is moving closer to Russia and China. Adani too made a well-publicized visit to China earlier this year, and is exploring a deal for lithium-ion battery making technology with China’s biggest EV maker, BYD Co., Bloomberg News reported last month.
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