Business

DOJ seeks dismissal of corruption charges against billionaire Gautam Adani

Published

3 hours ago

19 May 2026

DOJ seeks dismissal of corruption charges against billionaire Gautam Adani

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The U.S. Department of Justice has formally asked a federal court to dismiss criminal charges against Gautam Adani, an Indian billionaire accused of misleading U.S. and global investors while raising billions of dollars to finance a major solar energy project in India.

Adani, considered one of Asia’s richest individuals, allegedly promised to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian officials to secure lucrative contracts. He and his executives further raised money from investors by falsely claiming the company maintained strict anti-corruption policies — all while allegedly continuing the bribery scheme and later attempting to conceal the evidence, prosecutors alleged in 2024.

Despite the severity of the allegations, the Justice Department has requested the case be dismissed “with prejudice,” indicating that the charges would be permanently dropped and may not be brought again in the future, according to court records filed Monday. Adani Group has denied the allegations, calling them baseless.

“The Department of Justice has reviewed this case and has decided, in its prosecutorial discretion, not to devote further resources to these criminal charges against individual defendants,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing.

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Gautam Adani having conversation during an all-party prayer meeting

Gautam Adani has a conversation during an all-party prayer meeting on February 23, 2026, in Mumbai, India. (Bhushan Koyande/Hindustan Times via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The decision to drop the charges follows an announcement from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it moved for entry of final judgments by consent, subject to court approval, in a related lawsuit involving Adani. The proposed resolution would not require Gautam Adani or Sagar Adani to admit or deny the SEC’s allegations.

Beginning in 2020, Adani Green Energy Limited, led by Gautam Adani, secured a major contract to develop solar power projects in India.

However, some Indian state governments allegedly declined to purchase the electricity from the project due to high costs.

Gautam Adani portrays a prayer stance during a festival

Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani Group, attends a festival in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Indranil Aditya/Bloomberg / Getty Images)

As a result, Gautam Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, allegedly resorted to bribery, including promises of more than $250 million in payments to Indian officials, in order to secure power purchase agreements for the expensive solar energy.

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During the same period, the company required significant capital to finance the projects and raised approximately $750 million through bond sales to U.S. and global investors.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Adani Green and related entities raised more than $3 billion through loans and bond offerings while making false and misleading statements about the company’s anti-bribery and anti-corruption practices.

Prosecutors added that, to attract investors, the company falsely portrayed itself as an industry leader in corporate governance with a strict “zero tolerance” policy on bribery.

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani speaks during an interview at his office in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on April 2, 2014. (Reuters/Amit Dave/File Photo/File Photo / Reuters Photos)

When U.S. authorities, including the FBI and the SEC, began investigating the alleged corruption, several executives were accused by prosecutors of attempting to obstruct the inquiry by deleting emails and electronic messages, concealing information during internal investigations, and making false statements to federal agents.

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The case dismissal is contingent upon approval by Judge Nicholas Garaufis, according to the documents.

Business

IT stocks see tactical rotation as banking fatigue triggers sector shift: Dhananjay Sinha

Published

7 minutes ago

19 May 2026

NewsAdmin

IT stocks see tactical rotation as banking fatigue triggers sector shift: Dhananjay Sinha

The Indian IT sector has been through a prolonged phase of underperformance, and according to Dhananjay Sinha from Systematix Group, the recent interest in the space appears more tactical than structural. Over the past 12 to 18 months, the sector has seen significant derating amid concerns over US outsourcing policies and weaker earnings guidance from companies.

As he notes, “That has been the past.” At the same time, market leadership that had shifted towards banking stocks is now showing signs of fatigue as investor conviction weakens. He points out that “People might be now shifting back to IT to some extent,” but adds that this is likely to be a defensive move rather than a fundamental turnaround in the sector’s outlook.

On the macroeconomic front, rising crude oil prices are once again becoming a key inflation driver. With oil hovering at elevated levels, concerns around under-recoveries and pass-through effects are building. Sinha highlights that “At $100 we have seen that crude has actually been hovering around there,” and warns that government price adjustments remain insufficient. He adds that “We think that that is very inadequate,” indicating that further fuel price increases may be needed. The broader implication, he suggests, is that inflationary pressures are likely to persist, with “There will be pass through of higher energy prices on inflation,” and WPI inflation potentially rising beyond current expectations.

Turning to monetary policy, Sinha believes the Reserve Bank of India is facing a narrowing policy corridor. He observes that the central bank may initially overlook inflation spikes, but discomfort will rise if inflation crosses key thresholds. “The RBI will actually try to look through the initial surge,” he says, but cautions that “They will actually get more uncomfortable is when it starts going beyond 5%.” In his view, real interest rates could turn negative if inflation stays elevated, which would eventually force the RBI to consider rate hikes. He also flags currency pressure as an additional constraint, noting that “We do anticipate the rupee actually weakening quite sharply,” while RBI’s capacity for intervention may be diminishing.

On the broader macro narrative, Sinha challenges the long-held “Goldilocks” view of the Indian economy. He argues that rising energy-driven inflation will gradually feed into production costs, consumption, and corporate earnings. As he puts it, “We think that with an increase in cost inflation because of the elevated energy prices…” and this will impact “the overall spending power.” The result, he suggests, is a shift away from the idea of strong growth with low inflation toward a more difficult environment of slower growth and higher inflation. “There will be a slow growth and higher inflation,” he says, adding that “That is what we think as a stagflationary situation.”

Overall, the commentary paints a picture of a market and macro environment in transition, where sector rotation is being driven more by defensive positioning, while inflation, currency dynamics, and policy constraints increasingly dominate the outlook.

Business

How China’s Rising Chip Tool Imports from Southeast Asia Circumvent U.S. Trade Restrictions

Published

14 minutes ago

19 May 2026

NewsAdmin

Asia Dominates Global Digital Hardware Trade with Key Electronic Components

How China’s Rising Chip Tool Imports from Southeast Asia Circumvent U.S. Trade Restrictions

The global semiconductor industry is experiencing intense growth driven by a surging demand for AI hardware, leading major players in Taiwan to rapidly accelerate capital spending and infrastructure expansion.

Key Points

Rapid Expansion in Taiwan: Major chip suppliers, including ASE and Silicon Motion, are aggressively expanding capacity through new facility construction and land acquisitions to meet the unprecedented demand for AI-related hardware and memory chips.
Supply Chain Shifts: Analysis of Chinese customs data indicates a record increase in chip tool imports from Southeast Asia, a trend attributed to the expanding regional manufacturing presence of U.S.-based equipment firms like Applied Materials, Lam Research, and KLA.
Continued Reliance on Traditional Markets: Despite the pivot toward Southeast Asian import routes, Japan and the Netherlands remain the primary foreign suppliers for China, providing over $77 billion in equipment between 2020 and 2025.
Regulatory Pressure: U.S. policymakers are considering the “MATCH Act” to further restrict the flow of critical chipmaking components and equipment to China, aiming to address the effectiveness of China’s domestic localization push.
Strategic Industry Moves: SoftBank is repositioning Arm CEO Rene Haas to oversee international AI and semiconductor operations to advance “Project Izanagi,” an initiative designed to compete in the global AI chip market.
Broader Tech Developments: The report highlights ongoing regulatory actions in China against major e-commerce platforms, potential future shifts in Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory production, and concerns regarding energy and material security within the Taiwanese semiconductor industry.

Simultaneously, China is navigating evolving trade restrictions by increasingly sourcing chipmaking equipment through Southeast Asian hubs like Singapore and Malaysia, even as it continues to rely on primary suppliers in Japan and the Netherlands.

This shifting supply chain landscape occurs against a backdrop of heightened geopolitical scrutiny and ongoing efforts by Western policymakers to tighten controls on critical semiconductor manufacturing technologies.