What happened
The Trump administration plans to drop fraud and bribery charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, Bloomberg first reported Thursday. Adani, indicted in 2024 for an alleged $250 million solar energy scam, also faces a related civil case from the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as a Treasury Department investigation. Both agencies are now also reportedly preparing to settle.
Who said what
The reversal stems from Adani hiring a “new legal team led by Robert J. Giuffra Jr.,” one of President Donald Trump’s “personal lawyers,” said The New York Times. During an April meeting with federal prosecutors, Adani “offered to invest $10 billion” and “create 15,000 jobs if the charges were dropped,” said Forbes. The pitch “received favorable response from one senior Justice Department official,” said The Guardian, although department figures claimed it would “not sway the outcome of the case.”
What next?
Should the Department of Justice drop Adani’s case, the billionaire is “still expected to incur financial penalties,” the Times said. “Although the deal could still fall apart,” the DOJ may dismiss the charges “in the coming days.”