US drops Adani civil, criminal cases after $10 billion investment promise

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration on Monday moved to dismiss criminal ‌fraud charges ​against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, while also settling alleged Iran sanctions violations involving one of his companies.The resolution of outstanding cases against one of the world’s richest people came after Adani’s attorney, who is also a personal attorney of U.S. President Donald ⁠Trump, said last month his client wanted to invest $10 billion in the United States but could not do so while the cases proceeded, according to a source familiar with the matter.It is ‌the latest example of Trump’s Justice Department abandoning a high-profile case brought under his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.Adani has an estimated worth of $82 ‌billion, according to Forbes magazine. Adani had been accused of agreeing ‌to pay $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials so ‌a subsidiary of Adani ‌Group, Adani Green Energy, could win approval to develop India’s largest solar power plant, and then ​misleading U.S. investors ‌by providing reassuring information ​about the company’s anti-corruption practices. Prosecutors ⁠said he and his alleged co-conspirators raised more than $3 billion by hiding their corruption from lenders and investors.The Adani Group has consistently denied ​wrongdoing.