(Reuters) -Representatives for Indian billionaire Gautam Adani met officials from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to seek dismissal of criminal charges in an overseas bribery probe, with a resolution possible in a month, Bloomberg News reported.
In November, U.S. authorities indicted Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, alleging they paid bribes to secure power supply contracts, and misled U.S. investors during fund raises there.
The U.S. financial regulator summoned the duo, alleging they misled investors on compliance during a $750 million Adani Green bond sale in the United States.
The billionaire’s aides are trying to make the case that his prosecution does not align with Trump’s priorities and should be reconsidered, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The discussions began earlier this year and have picked up in recent weeks, with a resolution possible within a month if the momentum continues, the report said.
Adani Green, in a statement on Monday, reiterated it was not part of any proceedings, but it did not directly comment on the report about the meetings. It had recently said its review of the indictment found no non-compliance or irregularities.
The Justice Department and White House declined comment to Bloomberg on the report and did not respond to Reuters for comment outside business hours.
Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship firm, also did not respond to a request for comment. The group has previously denied any wrongdoing.
Shares of Adani Group’s nine Indian listed companies rose between 1.7% and 10.5% on Monday, amid a 0.6% increase in the broader market.
The indictment has erased about $13 billion in market value from Adani Group’s nine listed firms.
(Reporting by Bipasha Dey, Nandan Mandayam and Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
