Adani Group shares rise after US drops criminal charges

Athira Sethu

Kochi, 19 May 2026

The shares of Adani Group opened in an upward trajectory on Tuesday, May 19, following the US Department of Justice’s decision to drop all criminal charges against Gautam Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani. The case has finally been brought to a halt by the prosecution after finding out that the case had no grounds to stand upon. The move comes just days after Adani Group was involved in a number of legal proceedings in the United States.

The shares of some Adani Group companies were trading in positive territory as follows:

• Adani Enterprises at Rs2,734.40

• Adani Green Energy at Rs1,382.40

• Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone was still trading in positive territory

• ACC and Ambuja Cements recorded marginal gains

Last week, SEC reached a settlement with respect to civil charges concerning the disclosure of information relating to the construction of solar power plants in India. Court documents revealed that Gautam Adani was required to pay a penalty of $6 million, while Sagar Adani was required to pay $12 million without accepting any wrongdoings.

Also, allegations by the Office of Foreign Asset Control of the United States Department of the Treasury regarding sanctions violations due to importation of LPG from Iran were settled by the group. In connection with the settlement, the Adani Group agreed to pay $275 million.

Requesting dismissal of the indictment with prejudice would make it impossible for the case to be filed again. In a statement, prosecutors have mentioned that on review of the case, the decision was made that they did not want to allocate any more resources into prosecuting the defendants.

This development is significant in itself because the case created many doubts about how the Adani group plans to operate internationally. In fact, the allegations first brought out against the Adanis in late 2024 claimed that the family was involved in a $265 million bribery scandal related to solar power deals in India and had been withholding information from US lenders.

Submissions presented by the court in April 2026 also raised the question of the jurisdictional power of the SEC. In addition, it was mentioned in the submissions that there have been no losses for investors, all bond payments have been made, and Gautam Adani did not authorize the issuance of bonds in connection with the allegations.