Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani have agreed to pay a combined $18 million to settle a US Securities and Exchange Commission civil fraud lawsuit related to alleged bribery and investor deception connected to renewable energy contracts in India [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Gautam Adani will pay $6 million, while Sagar Adani will pay $12 million as part of the settlement, according to some reports [7, 3]. However, other sources say the exact split was not publicly detailed and only refer to "millions of dollars" in total payments [1, 4, 5, 6].
The 2024 lawsuit accused the Adanis of paying $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to win solar power contracts and misleading investors about compliance with anti-bribery laws [1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 6]. Gautam Adani has denied the allegations, calling them baseless [1, 3, 9]. The Adani Group, which includes energy, airports, coal mining, and infrastructure businesses, said no charges have been brought against Adani Green Energy, and that Gautam and Sagar Adani "consented to entry of final judgment without admitting or denying the allegations made in the civil complaint" [3].
In a related matter, the US Department of Justice is moving to drop criminal fraud charges filed in November 2024 in the Brooklyn federal court against Gautam Adani and others on similar bribery and investor deception counts [1, 3, 4, 5, 9]. The charges were dropped after Adani hired Robert J. Giuffra Jr., a high-profile lawyer and adviser to former President Donald Trump, who met with DOJ officials in April 2026. Giuffra conveyed Adani's pledge to invest $10 billion and create 15,000 jobs in the US in exchange for dismissal of the charges [1, 3, 8, 9].
The settlement marks a significant step in resolving long-running US legal challenges for the Adani Group. Prosecutors are expected to formally file dismissal papers this week, concluding the criminal case. The final judgment on the SEC civil lawsuit is also expected shortly, completing the legal process.
The Adani Group did not comment further on the settlement or the dropped charges beyond its statement about the civil case judgment.
