The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a $275 million settlement with Adani Enterprises Limited over apparent violations of US sanctions on Iran. According to reports from The Economic Times, the settlement involves 32 apparent violations involving purchases of Iranian-origin liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from November 2023 to June 2025. The final settlement amount reflected what OFAC said were Adani's remedial measures following discovery of the conduct and cooperation provided for OFAC's investigation. As per The Economic Times, the settlement was announced on May 18, 2026, with Adani Enterprises disclosing the settlement in a stock exchange filing on May 14, 2026. This settlement is part of a wider resolution with US authorities that also involves the Justice Department dismissing criminal fraud charges and the Treasury Department imposing a civil penalty for violating sanctions on Iran.
As reported by The Economic Times, from November 2023 to June 2025, Adani Enterprises purchased LPG from a Dubai-based trader that purported to supply gas from Oman and Iraq, but red flags should have put the company on notice that the LPG actually originated from Iran. The agency said Adani went on to purchase 35 cargoes of Iranian-origin LPG from the supplier or its affiliates, with only 32 shipments involving US-dollar payments totaling about $192.1 million routed through American banks. The remaining three shipments were either never paid for or were settled entirely in UAE dirhams. According to The Economic Times, OFAC's investigation revealed that the supplier presented itself as a middleman primarily supplying LPG from Oman and Iraq, but 'in reality' acted as a conduit for illicit Iranian supply to enter the market. The documentation did not explicitly point to Iranian origin at the time of the shipments, and none of the parties involved were sanctioned at the time. Adani Enterprises entered the LPG market in June 2023 by importing and selling LPG in India, with company representatives meeting Dubai-based trading company officials in July 2023.
According to The Economic Times, OFAC considered the case 'egregious' and noted that the violations were not voluntarily self-disclosed. Under US sanctions guidelines, this resulted in a base civil penalty of $384.2 million, but the final settlement amount was reduced due to Adani's remedial measures and cooperation. OFAC said Adani acted recklessly and had reason to know of the apparent violations due to the presence of red flags pointing to potential links to Iran, including third-party allegations that the LPG was of Iranian origin and vessels that routinely engaged in suspicious conduct. As per The Economic Times, OFAC's statutory maximum penalty could have reached about $184 million to $184.2 million, based on the value of transactions reviewed, but the final settlement amount was reduced to $175 million citing factors including voluntary self-reporting, proactive engagement, and corrective compliance steps. The case originated after Adani self-reported the issue to OFAC in 2025 following the discovery that a vessel carrying Iranian-origin LPG had docked at Mundra Port.
As reported by The Economic Times, Adani Enterprises suspended all LPG imports in June 2025 after media reports raised concerns about the origin of the cargoes and hired US-based legal counsel to conduct an internal investigation. The company cooperated extensively, producing documents, answering questions promptly and strengthening its sanctions compliance procedures across the group. Adani Enterprises emphasized that the settlement does not constitute a finding of guilt or wrongdoing and was reached without admitting the allegations. The company stated that it had no prior OFAC penalty or violation notice in the five years preceding the transactions, substantial cooperation with US authorities, and implemented additional compliance and remedial measures. According to The Economic Times, Adani Enterprises relied on a 2020 sanctions compliance programme used by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, which prohibited Iranian-origin cargo and sanctioned vessels from entering ports controlled by the company. However, OFAC said Adani Enterprises became aware on at least four occasions between March 2023 and February 2024 of third-party concerns that cargoes supplied by the Dubai-based trader may have originated in Iran. The company implemented extensive enhancements to its sanctions compliance program that apply across AEL's corporate group.
According to The Economic Times, OFAC said this case highlights the risks and potential costs that non-US companies are exposed to when using the US financial system for transactions that involve the purchase, sale, and maritime transport of energy products from regions with a high risk of sanctions evasion activity. The agency urged companies to investigate allegations of sanctions evasion and conduct enhanced due diligence when offered unusually low prices for energy products from high-risk regions, emphasizing that compliance with US sanctions is not an exercise in box-checking. The settlement's immediate financial impact is the $175 million payment and the compliance measures Adani Enterprises must implement. The matter was separate from high-profile investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission involving Gautam Adani and other executives. Together, the resolution of the DOJ, SEC, and OFAC matters is expected to remove a major legal overhang for the Adani Group after months of regulatory and investor scrutiny. Despite the investigations, the conglomerate continued expanding across infrastructure, logistics and energy businesses. Company filings show the Adani Group's listed entities reported record EBITDA of about $5.3 billion in the first half of FY26, while capital expenditure during the period was estimated at nearly $17 billion.
