About 100 slides, by one account of the meeting. One of them carried an unusual offer. If prosecutors dropped the charges against Gautam Adani, he would invest $10 billion in the American economy and create 15,000 jobs.
The New York Times reported on May 14, 2026 that the lawyer who stood in the Justice Department’s Washington headquarters and went through those slides was Robert J. Giuffra Jr., co-chairman of Sullivan & Cromwell and one of President Trump’s personal lawyers. That double role is what drew the scrutiny.
How Giuffra came to the case
Bloomberg reported in January 2026, in a story carried by The Straits Times, that Adani had hired Giuffra to defend him in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s civil suit. Giuffra was at the time also working on Trump’s bid to overturn his criminal conviction. The SEC had sued Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani in November 2024, alleging false and misleading statements about Adani Green Energy. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn separately charged the Adanis and others over an alleged bribery scheme tied to solar-power contracts in India. Both cases had stalled for more than a year with the defendants in India.
The Times, citing people with knowledge of the case, said the Justice Department was now planning to drop its charges. It described a meeting the previous month at which Giuffra argued that prosecutors lacked basic evidence and the jurisdiction to bring the case. Prosecutors later told him the $10 billion would play no role in resolving the criminal matter. But the Times reported that at least one senior Justice Department official reacted favorably to the offer. That official, Trent McCotter, the principal associate deputy attorney general, appeared to compare the case to the dropped prosecution of former New York mayor Eric Adams, according to people familiar with the meeting.
The SEC settlement came the same week. The agency announced $18 million in penalties, $6 million of it from Gautam Adani and the balance from his co-defendant. The Times also said the Treasury Department, which had been investigating Adani companies over Iranian gas shipments, might seek about $275 million.
Questions from Congress and the court
On June 11, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal wrote to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. The Wire reported that they asked whether Adani or his representatives had offered to invest $10 billion if the Justice Department dropped its prosecution, and how officials had responded. Their letter said the circumstances gave the appearance that Adani, with help from one of the president’s personal lawyers, had bought his way to criminal immunity.
On June 26, Judge Nicholas Garaufis declined to approve the dismissal right away. He ordered the Justice Department to explain each reason for it by July 13.
Adani answered under oath. Hindustan Times reported on July 16 that his sworn affidavit said he was not aware of any quid pro quo offer behind the department’s move. He said he had posted publicly on X in November 2024 about plans to invest $10 billion and create 15,000 jobs, before the indictment was unsealed. He also acknowledged that his lawyers had suggested that stated intent might form part of a resolution. Giuffra filed a declaration citing a May 2026 email from Justice Department officials rejecting the investment portion of the joint defense offer as “categorically rejected.”
Sources
- Adani hires top Wall Street lawyer in sign US fraud case will advance | The Straits Times
- U.S. Set to Drop Charges Against Indian Billionaire Accused of Fraud (The New York Times, 2026-05-14)
- Two Democratic Senators Ask if US DOJ Move to Drop Adani Case is Influenced by $10 Billion Investment Offer (The Wire, 2026-06-28)
- Not aware of any quid pro quo offer: Adani (Hindustan Times, 2026-07-16)
