Fact Check: No, Adani Executives Were Not Charged Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing the Justice Department to pause prosecutions of Americans accused of bribing foreign government officials while trying to win or retain business in their countries.

Trump’s order pauses enforcement of the nearly half-century-old Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to review current and past actions related to the law and prepare new guidelines for enforcement.

Surrounding this backdrop, a claim has been shared by NDTV on their Twitter handle stating that the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 1977 repealed in America under which Adani Group was being investigated.

The archived link of the post can be viewed here

Fact Check

On investigation we found the claim to be false. We investigated the official websites of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

DOJ Press Release
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York unsealed an indictment on November 20, 2024, that charged three executives—Gautam S. Adani, Sagar R. Adani, and Vneet S. Jaain—with conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud as well as substantive securities fraud. Although the indictment also includes charges for conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), those FCPA charges are directed at additional co-conspirators (such as Ranjit Gupta, Rupesh Agarwal, Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, and Deepak Malhotra).

The main Adani executives were not charged directly under the FCPA—they were charged with securities-related offenses.

SEC Press Release
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s press release dated November 20, 2024, explains that Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani were charged for allegedly making false and misleading statements in connection with a note offering that raised capital from U.S. investors. Their conduct, according to the SEC, misrepresented the company’s anti-bribery compliance program in the midst of a bribery scheme.

Meanwhile, Cyril Cabanes was charged with violations of the FCPA. This means that while aspects of the bribery scheme fall under FCPA scrutiny, the primary charges against the Adani executives were securities fraud and related offenses—not FCPA violations.

Furthermore, we also found a Reuters report (DEC 16, 2024) which also mentioned that Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and another Adani Group executive were charged with securities fraud and conspiracy. Five people affiliated with Azure Power Global, a formerly U.S.-listed company also allegedly involved, were charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Conclusion

Thus, from the above fact check, it concludes that the primary charges in the USA, against the Adani executives were securities fraud and related offenses—not FCPA violations. FCPA charges are directed at additional co-conspirators of Azure Power Global, a formerly U.S.-listed company.

DFRAC Analysis: Misleading