NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. government has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed against one of the world’s richest people who is accused of duping investors by concealing that his company’s huge solar energy project in India was being facilitated by an alleged bribery scheme, according to court filings published Thursday.In the lawsuit filed in late 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani — both leaders of the energy company Adani Green Energy Limited — of promising to pay Indian government officials the equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars in exchange for government contracts to purchase energy at inflated rates. At the same time, the company secured several billions of dollars from Wall Street investors who were allegedly assured that the company had a robust anti-bribery compliance program and were given promises from senior management that no bribery would take place.
Those actions, the SEC said at the time, violated antifraud provisions of U.S. securities laws.Court documents show that Gautam Adani agreed to pay civil penalties of $6 million while his nephew agreed to pay $12 million. The proposed settlement doesn’t include an admission of guilt. The Adani Group denied the allegations at the time, calling them baseless. Messages left with both the Adanis’ attorneys were not returned on Thursday.
