US set to drop charges against Indian billionaire after lawyer makes $10 bln investment offer: NYT

NEW YORK, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th May, 2026) The U.S. Justice Department is planning to drop criminal fraud charges against Gautam Adani, India's richest man, following an unusual private meeting in Washington in which his lawyers offered to invest $10 billion in the American economy if prosecutors closed the case, the New York Times reported Thursday.

The newspaper said that the reversal came after Adani hired a new legal team led by Robert Giuffra, one of President Donald Trump's personal lawyers and co-chairman of Sullivan & Cromwell, a global law firm.

According to the newspaper, Giuffra said Adani would invest $10 billion in the US economy and create 15,000 jobs if prosecutors dropped the charges against him.

Guiffra also reportedly had a presentation of 100 slides that explained why prosecutors lacked evidence and jurisdiction over the case, according to the Times.

Prosecutors said that the potential investment would not sway the outcome of the case, but the offer received favourable response from one senior justice department official, the newspaper reported.

Adani was accused of conspiring to pay $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials and misleading American and international investors with 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.

<?php /*?> <?php */?>

At the time, the justice department said that in addition to paying $250 million in bribes, Adani also schemed “to lie to investors and banks to raise billions of Dollars, and to obstruct justice”.

“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,” said Lisa Miller, the deputy assistant attorney general at the time.

Adani is considered one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the world as the founder of Adani Group, a conglomerate that operated India’s ports, built coal-fired power stations and opened coalmines in the country. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, he is the richest man in Asia, with an estimated net worth of $104 billion.

He holds close ties to the country’s nationalist prime minister, Narendra Modi, whose party members granted the Adani group contracts that allowed the group to monopolize and expand, it was pointed out. This resulted in allegations of favouritism and “crony capitalism”, which the Adani Group has denied. Journalists who tried to investigate the company were often harassed and charged, according to reports.

APP/ift