The US Department of Justice is dropping fraud charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, Asia’s richest man, after he hired a legal team led by Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, according to reports from the New York Times and Bloomberg.
In an undisclosed April meeting at the justice department, Trump’s lawyer Robert J Giuffra Jr said Adani would invest $10bn in the US economy and create 15,000 jobs if prosecutors dropped the charges. Giuffra also presented a 100-slide argument that prosecutors lacked evidence and jurisdiction.
Prosecutors said the potential investment would not sway the case, but one senior justice department official responded favourably to the offer. Adani was accused of conspiring to pay $250m in bribes to Indian officials and misleading US investors. He and two other executives were indicted in New York in November 2024.
Adani, founder of the Adani Group conglomerate, has an estimated net worth of $104bn and close ties to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The group has faced allegations of crony capitalism, which it denies.
Giuffra, co-chair of Sullivan & Cromwell, also represents Trump in appeals including the Stormy Daniels hush-money case. The justice department and Sullivan & Cromwell did not respond to requests for comment.
