Adani Enterprises shares gained 2% on Tuesday, reaching an intraday high of ₹2,774 after the US Department of Justice dropped all charges against Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani. According to latest market data, Adani Green surged over 3% while Adani Total increased by 2.3% in trading. All Adani stocks are trading in green on Tuesday, with Adani Green emerging as the highest gainer at 3.51%, followed by NDTV at 2.98% and Adani Total at 2.97%. The positive rally comes after the US DoJ was forced to drop all charges against Adani as prosecutors found no clear U.S. linkages and insufficient evidence to sustain the allegations.
The US Department of Justice has moved to drop criminal charges against Gautam Adani and seven other individuals, including his nephew Sagar Adani, marking a highly unusual decision that will require federal judge approval. According to the latest court filing, the DOJ has decided, in its prosecutorial discretion, not to devote further resources to these criminal charges against individual defendants. This represents a significant shift from the original allegations that prosecutors and regulators had made in late 2024, where they alleged Adani and associates orchestrated a multi-billion-dollar scheme to obtain funds from US investors and global financial institutions based on false and misleading statements. The DOJ alleged that defendants paid more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy supply contracts likely to bring in billions in profits, but then hid this scheme while seeking US funding.
Last week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission settled civil allegations against the two men tied to disclosures made to investors in connection with solar energy projects in India. Court filings showed Gautam Adani agreed to pay $6 million and Sagar Adani $12 million, without admitting or denying wrongdoing. This settlement was announced on the same day that the DOJ moved to drop a fraud and foreign bribery case against Gautam Adani, his nephew and other executives. The development follows a separate $18 million settlement in a US civil case linked to corruption, agreed without an admission of guilt.
The settlements came after the Adani Group hired a new legal team led by Robert J Giuffra Jr, one of US President Donald Trump's personal lawyers. Giuffra is also the co-chairman of the prominent firm Sullivan & Cromwell, where he works alongside partner James McDonald, another Trump personal attorney. Giuffra Jr announced that Adani would pledge an investment of $10 billion in the US, which would bring in 15,000 jobs. As reported by Reuters, citing unnamed sources familiar with the case, Adani said he wanted to invest in the US but 'could not do so while the cases proceeded'. The billionaire, the 17th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $108 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, denied the allegations throughout the legal proceedings.
