Adani Enterprises, other Adani Group stocks jump up to 3%. Here’s why

Shares of Adani Group companies, including Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Adani Green Energy, Adani Energy Solutions and Adani Power, jumped up to 3% on Friday morning after reports indicated that US authorities may move towards resolving fraud allegations against Gautam Adani and potentially close the criminal case against him.

Additionally, Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar have agreed to pay a total of $18 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission allegations they made false and misleading representations about Adani Green Energy, Bloomberg reported, further boosting investor sentiment for the stocks.

Gautam Adani would pay $6 million and Sagar would pay $12 million to end the SEC’s November 2024 lawsuit, under the proposed agreement filed in federal court Thursday, which still needs a judge’s approval, according to the Bloomberg report.

According to a report by The New York Times, citing people familiar with the matter, the U.S. Justice Department is considering dropping charges filed against Adani during the final weeks of the Joe Biden administration. Prosecutors had previously described the matter as an “elaborate bribery scheme involving corruption and fraud at the expense of U.S. investors.”

The report said the development follows Adani appointing a new legal team led by Robert J. Giuffra Jr., one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyers and co-chairman of the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.

As per the NYT report, Adani’s legal representatives met officials at the U.S. Justice Department headquarters last month and proposed that if prosecutors agreed to drop the charges, Adani would commit $10 billion in investments into the U.S. economy and create 15,000 jobs.

The report added that Giuffra was also working to settle parallel civil cases brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a separate probe by the U.S. Treasury Department.The New York Times further reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that both agencies are now preparing settlement agreements with Adani that would include financial penalties. Separately, a report by Bloomberg said Adani is discussing a potential settlement of between $15 million and $20 million in connection with a civil fraud case filed by the SEC and others in November 2024.

Bloomberg also reported, citing people aware of the discussions, that the Adani Group is nearing a deal to pay nearly $275 million to settle a separate probe by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

In its case, the U.S. Justice Department had alleged that Adani and others offered bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts and later concealed the arrangement while raising funds from U.S. investors.

A resolution of these cases would mark a major relief for the Adani Group, one of India’s largest conglomerates with interests spanning coal mining, renewable energy, airports and infrastructure. It could also pave the way for the group to re-enter international capital markets and revive its broader expansion plans.

Earlier this year, Adani’s legal team had sought dismissal of the SEC fraud case, arguing that U.S. regulators did not have the necessary jurisdiction over the accused individuals and that the alleged misstatements at the centre of the case were not legally actionable.

Adani Enterprises shares jumped nearly 3% to trade at Rs 2,780 apiece. The stock is extending sharp gains after nearly 60 lakh shares changed hands in a block deal. Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Green Energy and Adani Power shares rose up to 2% each.

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