Trump Jr. Reportedly Met Indian Billionaire Adani Before DOJ Dropped Fraud Charges Against Him

Topline

Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, held a private meeting with Indian billionaire Gautam Adani while visiting the country in November last year, as the billionaire faced federal fraud and bribery charges in the U.S.— dropped by the Trump administration last month—Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

Federal fraud charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani were dropped by the DOJ last month.

According to Bloomberg, the previously undisclosed meeting took place in Ahmedabad, in the Western Indian state of Gujarat, although the details of what was discussed are unknown.

A spokesperson for Trump Jr. cited by Bloomberg said the meeting had “zero to do” with the DOJ’s decision to drop its federal case—brought by the Biden administration—against Adani.

Adani and his company have vehemently denied the federal charges, which were dropped last month following reports that the billionaire’s lawyers offered to invest $10 billion in the U.S.

Citing an unnamed person close to the president’s son, the report said Adani’s younger son, Jeet Adani—who was involved in a push to end the federal case—met with Trump Jr. in Mar-a-Lago last year.

The unnamed source claimed the DOJ case was not discussed in either of the two meetings.

Tangent

Adani publicly praised Trump after his re-election, calling him the “embodiment of unbreakable tenacity, unshakeable grit, relentless determination,” as he and his family were engaged in a major push to drop the charges brought against him by the Biden DOJ. According to the Wall Street Journal, Adani hired Boris Epshteyn, a key adviser and personal lawyer of President Donald Trump, to help with his defense. The report, however, noted that Epshteyn didn’t attend meetings with prosecutors regarding the case, and his name didn’t appear in Adani’s legal filings. The billionaire’s paperwork in the case was handled by the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, which also represents the president.

Forbes Valuation

Adani’s estimated net worth as of Tuesday morning is $88.6 billion, which makes him both the second-richest Indian and the second-richest Asian on the Real-Time Billionaires list, only behind Mukesh Ambani. His fortune has risen by nearly $8 billion since the DOJ dropped the case against him last month, despite turbulence in the Indian stock market amid the war in Iran. Earlier this month, Adani briefly became Asia’s richest person, overtaking both Ambani and Softbank founder Masayoshi Son.

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