US prosecutors are reportedly investigating whether Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s companies imported Iranian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) into India through the Mundra port, potentially violating US sanctions. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Monday that the US Justice Department is reviewing the activities of several tankers suspected of shipping Iranian-origin LPG to Adani Enterprises.
According to the WSJ investigation, ships traveling between Adani’s Mundra port in Gujarat and the Persian Gulf showed patterns consistent with sanctions evasion, including ship-to-ship transfers and signal blackouts. These tactics are frequently used by vessels attempting to obscure their origin and destination.
Adani Group, in a statement to the WSJ, categorically denied involvement in any sanctions violation, stating, “We are not aware of any investigation by US authorities on this subject.”
The probe comes amid increased US enforcement of sanctions against Iran. In 2019, the Trump administration declared that any entity purchasing Iranian oil or petrochemical products would face secondary sanctions.
Last month, Trump posted of Truth Social, “Any Country or person who buys ANY AMOUNT of OIL or PETROCHEMICALS from Iran will be subject to, immediately, Secondary Sanctions. They will not be allowed to do business with the United States of America in any way, shape, or form.”
In January 2023, Hindenburg Research, a US-based short-selling firm, released a scathing 33,000-word report accusing the Adani Group of violating Indian securities laws. The report alleged that members of the Adani family secretly controlled large portions of company shares through a network of offshore entities. The revelations triggered a sharp decline in Adani Group stocks, though some of those losses have since been recovered.
The conglomerate faced renewed scrutiny in November 2024, when US prosecutors filed fraud charges against Gautam Adani, accusing him of orchestrating approximately $250 million in bribes to Indian officials to secure high-value solar power contracts.
The Adani Group has dismissed the Hindenburg report as “nothing but a lie” and rejected the US government’s allegations as “baseless”.