India's Adani to pay US$275 million settlement to US over alleged Iran sanctions violations
It comes just days after another Adani-linked company agreed to pay a multimillion-dollar settlement in a separate US case.
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani attends the 51st Gems and Jewellery Awards in Jaipur, India, Nov 30, 2024. (Photo: REUTERS/Stringer)
WASHINGTON: One of Indian billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani's companies will pay the United States US$275 million to settle a probe into whether it violated Washington's sanctions against Iran, the US Treasury said in a statement on Monday (May 18).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the agreement had been reached with Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL), part of the magnate's sprawling multinational conglomerate of companies.
"AEL agreed to settle its potential civil liability for 32 apparent violations of OFAC's Iran sanctions," the Treasury said, pointing to AEL's purchases of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) shipments between November 2023 and June 2025.
Monday's announcement came days after Adani agreed to pay a separate US$18 million settlement in a US civil court case linked to corruption, without admitting guilt, according to one of his other companies.
In that case, Adani was accused of having participated in an estimated US$250 million scheme to bribe Indian officials for lucrative solar energy supply contracts.
Monday's US settlement announcement said AEL had cooperated with OFAC's probe and agreed to additional nonmonetary remedial measures to strengthen compliance with US sanctions.
The probe focused on LPG imports arranged through a Dubai-based supplier that claimed to be exporting Omani and Iraqi gas, OFAC said.
"Red flags should have put AEL on notice that the LPG actually originated from Iran," the statement said.
The Adani Group is one of India's largest business empires, operating businesses ranging from ports and power plants to cement factories and media houses.
Gautam Adani, one of India's richest men, has been rocked in recent years by corporate fraud allegations and a stock crash.
Adani is a close ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hails from the leader's home state of Gujarat.
India is the world's second-largest buyer of LPG, and the fourth-largest buyer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), much of which is sourced through the Middle East.
