Adani revives US investment plans as Trump moves fuel hopes

India's Adani Group has revived plans for major investments in the United States, according to people familiar with the matter, despite criminal charges there against the conglomerate’s billionaire founder Gautam Adani.

The infrastructure-focused business group has reactivated potential plans to fund projects in US sectors such as nuclear power and utilities as well as an east coast port, said four people close to Gautam Adani.

Adani, one of India’s most powerful tycoons, first pledged to invest $10 billion in the US, creating up to 15,000 jobs, following the election last year of Donald Trump as president.

Those plans were widely thought to have been kicked into the long grass just weeks later when Adani and seven others were indicted by US authorities on charges related to an alleged $265 million Indian solar energy bribery scheme.

But one of the people close to Adani said there had been “big relief” within the conglomerate when Trump earlier in February ordered a halt to enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a move they said heightened expectations the cases against him would eventually collapse.

Adani as a non-US citizen was not charged under the act, but it underpins the indictments against others allegedly involved in the scheme. Adani Group has called the accusations “baseless”.

“Once Trump came in, we have reactivated some plans,” said another of the people, but added that a “Damocles sword” still hung over the tycoon and there were worries about the “indefinite nature of the investigation”.

Another person close to Adani said: “We know what we want to do, but we will wait until this [case] resolves.”

Adani Group had previously been in talks with US companies on potential partnerships and had looked at petrochemical investments in Texas, the people said. The group does not currently have any major investments or projects in the US.

The US charges have presented an unprecedented threat to Adani, who has long-standing ties with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and whose conglomerate is deeply embedded in India’s drive to develop its infrastructure drive and boost its international influence.

“If the charges are dropped, Adani would likely look to follow through with his investment plans in America,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute in Washington. “The prospect of Adani — with his vast riches and close relationship to the Modi government, a key US strategic partner — buying America would be warmly welcomed by Trump.”

The group, which has sprawling interests across green energy, coal mining, ports, airports and news media, weathered corporate fraud and share price manipulation allegations levelled against it in early 2023 by the now-disbanded New York-based short seller Hindenburg Research. The conglomerate and its chair have repeatedly and vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

In the wake of the Hindenburg report the group established a US lobbying presence and has spent at least $130,000 since mid-2023 on those efforts.

Since the charges against Adani were announced in November, law firms Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Kirkland & Ellis and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan have all taken on Adani Group companies as clients, according to US lobbying disclosures.

In February, six Republican congressmen wrote to US attorney-general Pam Bondi criticising the Department of Justice’s pursuit of Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, who was also charged.

In the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Financial Times, the lawmakers called the case a “misguided crusade” that would harm India-US relations.

“Needless pursuits against those who have contributed tens of billions and created thousands of jobs deter and discourage investors from contributing to our economy,” they wrote.

The congressmen also asked Bondi to investigate the DoJ’s conduct under former president Joe Biden and said they “would appreciate you sharing with us all records pertaining to this case, for a co-ordinated effort in uncovering the truth”. 

There has been little public movement on the two cases brought by the DoJ and Securities and Exchange Commission, though the markets regulator told a New York court in February it had requested assistance from India’s government to serve its complaint against the two Adanis.

During Modi’s recent visit to Washington, which was widely seen as focused largely on staving off potentially damaging Trump trade tariffs, the Indian prime minister said the two leaders had not discussed the Adani cases.

The billionaire’s perceived close relationship with Modi remains a politically charged issue in New Delhi and a focal point for criticism by opposition politicians who allege Adani has benefited from government favouritism — an accusation he denies.

There has been little public movement on the two cases brought by the DoJ and Securities and Exchange Commission, though the markets regulator told a New York court in February it had requested assistance from India’s government to serve its complaint against the two Adanis.

During Modi’s recent visit to Washington, which was widely seen as focused largely on staving off potentially damaging Trump trade tariffs, the Indian prime minister said the two leaders had not discussed the Adani cases.

The billionaire’s perceived close relationship with Modi remains a politically charged issue in New Delhi and a focal point for criticism by opposition politicians who allege Adani has benefited from government favouritism — an accusation he denies.