Trump’s Win Revives Adani’s U.S. Investment Plans Amid Bribery Charges

India-West News Desk

NEW DELHI – India’s Adani Group has revived plans for major infrastructure investments in the United States following Donald Trump’s election victory, even as its founder faces bribery charges, the Financial Times reported on March 2.

Since Trump’s win in November 2024, the conglomerate has reactivated potential projects in nuclear power, utilities, and an East Coast port, the report said. The group had previously explored U.S. partnerships, including petrochemical investments in Texas.

Gautam Adani, the group’s chairman, announced plans to invest $10 billion in U.S. energy security and infrastructure projects, a move that could create 15,000 jobs. The revival of these plans aligns with Trump’s pledge to ease regulations for energy companies, including drilling on federal land and pipeline construction.

“Once Trump came in, we have reactivated some plans,” the Financial Times quoted a source as saying.

However, Adani’s expansion efforts come amid legal troubles. In November 2024, federal prosecutors in New York unsealed an indictment accusing Adani of bribing Indian officials to secure electricity contracts for Adani Green Energy. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also sought assistance from Indian authorities in its investigation into allegations of securities fraud and a $265 million bribery scheme involving Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani.

A person close to the conglomerate told the Financial Times, “We know what we want to do, but we will wait until this [case] resolves.”

Adani Group has been under scrutiny since 2023, when U.S.-based short-seller Hindenburg Research accused it of stock manipulation and improper use of offshore tax havens. The allegations triggered a $150 billion rout in Adani companies’ shares. Hindenburg Research disbanded earlier this year.