US initiates new investigation into India’s Adani due to Iran trade

(MENAFN) The US Department of Justice has initiated a new investigation into Indian billionaire Gautam Adani over alleged violations of Iran sanctions, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The inquiry focuses on reports that Adani’s port in Mundra, Gujarat, may have facilitated the import of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Iran. According to the WSJ, tankers traveling between Mundra and the Persian Gulf displayed patterns typically associated with attempts to evade US sanctions — prompting authorities to take a closer look at Adani’s transactions.

Adani Group dismissed the reports as “baseless and mischievous.” The company insisted it was not aware of any US investigation and denied “deliberate engagement in sanctions evasion or transactions involving Iranian LPG.”

In May, former US President Donald Trump announced a policy requiring all buyers of Iranian oil and related products to cease transactions immediately or face secondary sanctions.

The new inquiry comes after two years of controversy surrounding Adani Group. Hindenburg Research first raised fraud and market manipulation allegations against the enterprise in 2023 — triggering a dramatic drop in its market capitalization and a political uproar in India.

Later that year, the Organized Crime and Corrupt Reporting Project alleged financial wrongdoing by the group. Hindenburg further alleged that the chief of India's market regulator was involved in transactions related to Adani, although these claims were denied by the official.

In November 2024, US prosecutors alleged Adani and members of his team were involved in a $250 million bribery conspiracy to win solar power contracts in India — charges the group dismissed as “baseless.”

The growing pressure on Adani was expected to be a key talking point during Modi’s visit to Washington in February, although Modi denied these matters were raised in his conversations with Trump.

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