U.S. to Drop Adani Bribery Charges This Week

U.S. authorities are preparing to drop criminal charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and several associates accused of a multibillion-dollar bribery and fraud scheme, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Department of Justice could announce the dismissal as early as this week, these sources said. A parallel civil fraud case by the Securities and Exchange Commission is also moving toward resolution through a monetary settlement that would include financial penalties. The developments follow indictments filed in November 2024 by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York, alleging that Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and others orchestrated a scheme involving approximately $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials. Prosecutors said the payments were promised to secure solar energy contracts expected to generate nearly $2 billion in profits over two decades for India's largest solar power project.

The group allegedly concealed the arrangement while raising more than $3 billion from U.S. investors and lenders through loans and bond offerings by Adani Green Energy, the conglomerate's renewable energy arm. None of the defendants, who include former...