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    BUSINESS & TRADE                                                          MAY 22, 2026     |  The Indian Eye 36

                Adani’s SEC Settlement Signals a Major

             Reset for India’s Biggest Business Empire

                 The proposed deal with US regulators could remove a damaging legal cloud over the

             Adani Group while strengthening its global business ambitions and political significance.

            OUR BUREAU
            New York / Mumbai
                  he  proposed  settlement  between  Gautam
                 Adani and the US Securities and Exchange
            TCommission (SEC) may prove to be far more
            than a legal compromise. For the Adani Group, it
            represents the possibility of a strategic reset — one
            that could restore investor confidence, reopen glob-
            al financial doors and reposition the conglomerate
            as a central pillar of India’s international economic
            ambitions.
                According to court records cited by Reuters, the
            SEC has agreed to settle its civil lawsuit against the
            Adani  Group  chairman,  subject  to  court  approv-
            al. Reports said Gautam Adani agreed to pay civil
            penalties of USD 6 million, while his nephew Sagar
            Adani agreed to pay USD 12 million. Crucially, the
            settlement does not involve any admission of guilt.
                The  SEC  had  earlier  alleged  that  Gautam
            Adani,  Sagar  Adani  and  others  orchestrated  a                   Gautam Adani, the head of the Adani Group (ANI File Photo)
            bribery scheme worth more than USD 250 million
            between 2020 and 2024 to secure solar energy con-
            tracts in India. The allegations created serious rep-  ment as “very, very big” for the group. He said the   US President Donald Trump during the legal bat-
            utational damage for one of India’s fastest-growing   resolution of the SEC proceedings — and reports   tle. American media reports noted that the group
            infrastructure  conglomerates  and  raised  concerns   that the US Department of Justice may also eventu-  brought in legal figures associated with Trump’s po-
            among international investors about regulatory and   ally drop its criminal case — could effectively hand   litical and business network, underlining how geo-
            governance risks.                            Adani “a clean slate” in the United States.   politically sensitive the case had become.
                But  legal  experts  now  believe  the  settlement   “Once that happens, what it basically means is   The controversy had threatened to complicate
            could effectively close the most immediate threat   that as far as America is concerned, Gautam Adani   not only Adani’s corporate ambitions but also In-
            facing the group in the United States.        has no case pending against him,” Karanjawala said.  dia’s  broader  economic  narrative  abroad.  Over
                Senior advocate and former Additional Solici- “He’s free to do business as usual and also free to   the last decade, the Adani Group has emerged as
            tor General Sidharth Luthra said the SEC has broad   travel all across the world.”         one of the symbols of India’s infrastructure-driven
            powers  to  settle  regulatory  proceedings  through   Karanjawala acknowledged that foreign inves-  growth story. Its rapid expansion has often mirrored
            monetary  penalties  without  necessarily  pursuing   tors had become cautious because of the pending   the Indian government’s push for large-scale indus-
            criminal prosecution.                        US proceedings. “One of the things that the Adani   trial and logistics transformation.
               “The SEC can call upon an individual or compa-  must have been suffering from when they were   Karanjawala framed the issue in explicitly geo-
            ny to pay a fine and enter into a settlement. The Unit-  raising foreign capital is to be told but you got a   political terms. Comparing India with the United
            ed States is a very strict jurisdiction where substantial   case pending in America against you, why should   States, he referred to Trump taking top American
            penalties are imposed for alleged violations under   we do business with you?” he said. “Now you sud-  industrialists during visits abroad and called them
            the  Foreign  Corrupt  Practices  Act,”  Luthra  said.  denly find that there is no case. So obviously then   America’s “industrial army.”
                According to him, if the settlement is approved,  you are judged on your own merit outside the view   He suggested that Prime Minister Narendra Modi
            “there would then be no criminal prosecution within   of the case.”                        could similarly deploy India’s biggest business lead-
            the United States in relation to this issue.”    The settlement also comes at a politically signif-  ers globally to strengthen trade and investment ties.
                Luthra emphasized that the proposed arrange-  icant moment.                               “The industrial army that India possesses,” he
            ment is a “no-fault admission settlement.”       According to a report by The New York Times,  said, includes names such as the Tata Group, Adani
               “The Adani Group is not admitting guilt. They  Adani recently pledged to invest USD 10 billion in   Group,  Reliance  Industries  and  other  major  con-
            are saying that without accepting liability or admit-  the United States and create thousands of jobs, a   glomerates capable of projecting India’s economic
            ting commission of any offence, they are willing to   move widely interpreted as an attempt to deepen   influence overseas.
            pay the penalty and resolve the matter,” he added.  economic  ties  with  Washington  while  positioning   For  Adani,  therefore,  the  settlement  is  not
                The implications of such a settlement extend   the group as a long-term stakeholder in the Amer-  merely about ending litigation. It is about restoring
            well beyond the courtroom.                    ican economy.                                legitimacy,  stabilizing  investor  sentiment  and  re-
                Raian  N.  Karanjawala,  Managing  Partner  of   That outreach gained additional attention be-  claiming momentum after one of the most damag-
            Karanjawala  &  Company,  described  the  develop-  cause  Adani  reportedly  hired  lawyers  linked  to   ing crises in the group’s history.

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