Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: US authorities are moving to end the fraud cases against Gautam Adani, according to a Bloomberg report, in what could mark a major legal reprieve for the billionaire and the Adani Group.Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that the US Department of Justice may announce as early as this week that it is dropping the criminal charges against Adani. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is also said to be moving toward settling its parallel civil fraud case, potentially bringing to a close a legal battle that has hung over the group since late 2024.The reported move comes even as Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani have separately challenged the SEC’s civil case in a federal court in New York in April, asking for the lawsuit to be dismissed. In filings before the Brooklyn federal court, the Adanis denied wrongdoing and argued that investors suffered no losses in the 2021 bond issue at the centre of the SEC’s complaint.The SEC case is tied to a $750 million bond offering by Adani Green Energy Ltd in 2021. The Adanis have denied any wrongdoing arguing that the SEC lacks jurisdiction because both of them are based in India, the alleged conduct took place entirely in India, and the securities were not listed on any US exchange. Their lawyers said the bonds were issued outside the US under Rule 144A and Regulation S exemptions, initially sold to non-US underwriters and only later resold in part to qualified institutional buyers. On that basis, the filing described the SEC’s claims as “impermissibly extraterritorial.”No investor losses, no credible bribery evidence The defence also argued that the SEC had failed to establish investor harm, noting that the bonds matured and were repaid in full with interest in 2024. It further said the regulator had not shown any direct role by Gautam Adani in approving the issuance, attending key meetings or making statements specifically aimed at US investors. Statements cited by the SEC around ESG commitments, anti-corruption policies and corporate governance were dismissed by the defence as broad corporate “puffery” rather than actionable fraud.If the Justice Department formally drops the criminal charges and the SEC reaches a settlement, it would remove a major overhang for the Adani Group, which has been navigating regulatory scrutiny in the US even as it continues its aggressive expansion in sectors ranging from ports and airports to renewable energy and infrastructure. It also reopen the door for the conglomerate’s return to international capital markets.
