“These offences were allegedly committed by senior executives"
The US Department of Justice is reportedly dropping its fraud charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani after he hired a new legal team led by one of Donald Trump’s personal lawyers.
According to the The New York Times, Trump lawyer Robert J Giuffra Jr met justice department officials in April during an undisclosed meeting.
During the meeting, Giuffra reportedly said Adani would invest $10 billion into the US economy and create 15,000 jobs if prosecutors dropped the case against him.
It was also reported that Giuffra presented more than 100 slides, arguing that prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence and jurisdiction to continue pursuing the case.
Prosecutors reportedly insisted the proposed investment would not influence the outcome of the case.
However, the offer was said to have received a favourable response from one senior justice department official.
Adani was accused of conspiring to pay $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials while misleading American and international investors through false statements.
In November 2024, Adani and two other executives connected to an Indian renewable energy company were indicted in New York on multiple fraud charges.
At the time, the Department of Justice alleged Adani had also attempted to obstruct justice while raising billions of dollars from investors and banks.
The department previously said Adani allegedly schemed “to lie to investors and banks to raise billions of dollars, and to obstruct justice”.
Lisa Miller, the deputy assistant attorney general at the time, said:
“These offences were allegedly committed by senior executives and directors to obtain and finance massive state energy supply contracts through corruption and fraud at the expense of US investors.”
Gautam Adani is widely considered one of the world’s most influential businessmen. He founded the Adani Group, which operates ports across India and has major interests in coal mining and energy infrastructure.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Adani is currently Asia’s richest man, with an estimated net worth of $104 billion.
The businessman has long maintained close ties with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Critics have accused Modi’s government of helping Adani Group secure contracts that strengthened the company’s dominance across several industries.
Those allegations have fuelled accusations of favouritism and “crony capitalism”, claims the Adani Group has repeatedly denied.
Journalists investigating the company have also reportedly faced harassment and legal action.
Giuffra currently serves as co-chair of Sullivan and Cromwell, one of New York’s most powerful law firms.
Before Trump began his second term, Giuffra agreed to represent Donald Trump in appeals linked to two personal legal cases, including the Stormy Daniels hush-money case.
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