Indian Billionaire Gautam Adani Comes Under New Scrutiny From U.S. Prosecutors

Justice Department is investigating whether Adani's companies violated U.S. sanctions on Iran, after charging him in bribery case last year

- Staff writer

Gautam Adani, Asia's second-richest man, is trying to get the Trump administration to drop foreign bribery charges against him. Instead, he is facing a new front in his fight with prosecutors: a probe into whether his companies are buying Iranian petrochemical products.

U.S. prosecutors are investigating whether Adani's companies imported Iranian liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, into India through the company's Mundra port. A Wall Street Journal investigation into tankers that regularly traveled between Mundra and the Persian Gulf found their behavior often exhibited traits seen by ships seeking to evade sanctions.

"Adani categorically denies any deliberate engagement in sanctions evasion or trade involving Iranian-origin LPG," a company spokesman said in a statement. "Further, we are not aware of any investigation by U.S. authorities on this subject."

The expanding scrutiny by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn could prove problematic for Adani's rehabilitation effort. President Trump is rolling back enforcement of longstanding laws punishing overseas bribery, but has also taken aim at purchasers of Iranian oil and gas products.

"Any Country or person who buys ANY AMOUNT of OIL or PETROCHEMICALS from Iran will be subject to, immediately, Secondary Sanctions," Trump wrote on social-media platform Truth Social last month. "They will not be allowed to do business with the United States of America in any way, shape, or form."

Adani is a close ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sits atop a group of infrastructure companies bearing his name that has been integral to India's recent economic growth. The public companies have a valuation around $150 billion, yielding Adani and his family one of the world's largest fortunes.