MUMBAI: The US market regulator’s $18-million settlement of a civil case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and nephew Sagar Adani has no immediate bearing on a parallel criminal investigation initiated against them by the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Adanis acknowledged that the settlement does not grant them immunity from any criminal liability related to the case, they said in their filings with a New York court.
“This settles the civil action brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission. It has no implications for the existing criminal charges brought by the DoJ or any other criminal investigation that may be pending,” said Russell A. Stamets, a partner at Circle of Counsels, a law firm in New Delhi.
The SEC and the DoJ had filed similar suits against Adani and his nephew in November 2024 for allegedly paying more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials from 2020 to 2024 to obtain lucrative solar-energy contracts. The regulators claimed the Adanis lied about the company’s anti-bribery policies when raising capital from investors in the US.
The Adani Group, in the past, has denied all allegations. It did not immediately respond to Mint’s emails Friday seeking comment on the matter.
While the SEC initiated civil proceedings, the DoJ indicted eight individuals including the Adanis and opened a criminal investigation.
The SEC applied to the New York Eastern District Court on 14 May to settle the case against the Adanis and noted that the agreement does not grant them immunity from any criminal liability arising from the matter.
“Following negotiations, both defendants have executed consents agreeing to settle the SEC’s claims,” the regulator’s attorneys wrote in their application on Thursday.
The duo did not travel to the US for this suit and signed consent agreements from Ahmedabad, court records show.
Consent filings
“Defendant acknowledges that no promise or representation has been made by the Commission with regard to any criminal liability that may have arisen or may arise from the facts underlying this action or immunity from any such criminal liability,” the Adanis said in identical consent filings.
The New York Eastern District Court’s final judgement on the settlement of the SEC’s civil suit is awaited. The settlement terms include a civil penalty of $6 million for Gautam Adani and $12 million for Sagar Adani, executive director of Adani Green Energy Ltd.
“The US SEC, Mr. Gautam Adani and Mr. Sagar Adani have filed their request for entry of final judgment, on consent, before the US Eastern District NY Court on May 15, 2026, India time/May 14, 2026, New York time. The final judgment is awaited,” Adani Green Energy said in an exchange filing on Friday morning. The company reiterated it was not party to the proceedings.
Shares of Adani Green Energy pared early losses on Friday to trade 0.23% higher at ₹1,419.1 on the BSE at 10:15 am. The benchmark Sensex gained 0.48%.
The New York Times reported on Thursday that the DoJ was also likely to drop the charges against Adani. Robert Giuffra of the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, who is leading Gautam Adani’s defence, made a 100-slide presentation to the DoJ in Washington DC last month, outlining why the prosecutors lacked basic evidence and the jurisdiction to bring the case, as per the NYT report, which cited unidentified people.
Investment promise
If prosecutors dropped the charges, Adani would be willing to invest $10 billion in the US, creating 15,000 jobs, Giuffra noted in his presentation, according to the report. The prosecutors are said to have noted that the $10 billion investment promise would play no role in the resolution of the case.
Sagar Adani's $12 million fine is the second-largest settlement against an Indian-origin executive in the US. Rajat Gupta, a former partner at McKinsey, agreed to pay $13.9 million to the SEC in a case in which he was found to have illegally shared corporate secrets with former hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam. Gupta also served a two-year prison term and paid an additional $5 million fine.
The case against the Adanis pertains to allegations made by US regulators in November 2024 of paying bribes to Indian government officials and not disclosing these alleged bribes, thus committing securities fraud.
The Adani kin hired prominent attorneys in the US to represent them, with Giuffra leading the team representing Gautam Adani. Giuffra is one of the most prominent white-collar crime defence attorneys in the US and is leading US President Donald Trump’s appeal against his conviction in the infamous hush money case involving a former adult film actor.
