US drops fraud case against Adani after 'unusual' offer
Crime and Justice
By
David Odongo
| May 16, 2026
The United States Justice Department is preparing to drop fraud and bribery charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani.
The reversal comes after his lawyer who also represents former US President Donald Trump made an unusual offer involving Adani pledging a US$ 10 billion investment in the American economy.
According to a detailed report first published by The New York Times, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn had accused Adani, one of the world’s richest men, of orchestrating a US$265 million (Sh34 billion) scheme to bribe Indian government officials.
The indictment, filed in the final weeks of the Biden administration, described an corruption network that defrauded American investors.
However, citing several people familiar with the case, the New York Times reports that the Trump administration is now planning to dismiss the charges entirely.
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The development comes as no surprise to Kenyans, who recall Adani’s aggressive but controversial pursuit of infrastructure deals in Nairobi.
In 2024, President William Ruto faced a public outcry over proposed deals that would have handed the Adani Group control of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) under a 30-year lease, as well as a 30-year public-private partnership for the construction of key power transmission lines.
Those proposals, which were eventually halted following legal challenges and opposition from transport workers and civil society groups, raised red flags over transparency, procurement processes, and the potential for inflated costs to taxpayers.
The reversal in Washington followed a previously unreported meeting last month at the Justice Department’s headquarters, the New York Times reports.
Adani’s new legal team, led by Robert J. Giuffra Jr. a personal lawyer to former President Trump presented about 100 slides arguing that US prosecutors lacked basic evidence and, crucially, the jurisdiction to bring the case.
But it was another slide that has raised eyebrows. According to the sources, Giuffra made an unusual offer, if prosecutors dropped the criminal charges, Adani would invest US$10 billion (approximately Sh1.3 trillion) in the American economy and create 15,000 jobs. This echoed a public pledge the billionaire had made shortly after Trump’s re-election.
While prosecutors later told Giuffra that the investment offer would play no official role in their decision, the New York Times notes that at least one senior Justice Department official at the meeting responded favourably to the proposal.
The episode, analysts say, underscores a highly transactional approach to justice in Trump’s Washington, where pardons and dropped cases have increasingly been linked to political allies and economic sweeteners.
The NewYotk Times report notes that the decision to drop the case is not being framed as a political favour to Adani, who has close ties to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Instead, officials suggest it reflects the Trump administration’s broader retreat from enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), a law that prohibits companies with US ties from bribing foreign officials.
Last year, Trump issued an executive order pausing FCPA enforcement, arguing it hurt American economic competitiveness.
Even with the criminal charges expected to be dismissed, Adani will not walk away free simce The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a settlement late Thursday, with Adani personally paying a US$6 million (Sh775 million) penalty.
The proposed dismissal, which could be formally filed in the coming days, would mark the end of a case that had threatened Adani’s access to American capital markets and his ability to travel freely.
His net worth currently stands at US$104 billion (Sh13.4 trillion), making him the 17th richest person on the planet.