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Indian billionaire and Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani has agreed to pay an $18 million civil settlement in a United States court case linked to corruption allegations, according to a filing by Adani Green Energy.
The case stems from a November 2024 indictment filed in New York, which accused Adani and several associates of misleading international investors in connection with an alleged bribery scheme tied to solar energy contracts in India.
US authorities alleged that the scheme involved approximately $250 million in bribes paid to Indian officials to secure lucrative renewable energy supply deals.
In a letter submitted to the Mumbai Stock Exchange, Adani Green Energy confirmed that Gautam Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, had agreed to the “payment of a civil penalty” totalling $18 million. However, the company stressed that the settlement was reached “without admitting or denying the allegations made in the civil complaint.”
The filing also stated that the company itself was not directly involved in the proceedings.
“The company is not a party to this proceeding, and no charges have been brought against it,” the letter noted, while adding that a final judgment from the US court is still pending.
The development comes amid reports that US prosecutors may be preparing to drop criminal charges against Adani.
According to reports by The New York Times, the move followed the appointment of a new legal team led by Robert Giuffra, one of US President Donald Trump’s personal lawyers.
Adani, regarded as one of India’s most influential industrialists and a close ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, oversees a sprawling business empire spanning coal, ports, airports, cement, energy and media.
Born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, to a middle-class family, Adani left school at 16 before moving to Mumbai to work in the diamond trade. He later joined his brother’s plastics business before launching the Adani conglomerate in 1988 through export trading.
His major breakthrough came in 1995, when he secured a contract to develop and operate a commercial port in Gujarat, a move that helped transform the group into one of India’s largest business empires.
