(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, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday.
Shares of Adani Group’s nine listed companies rose between 0.4% and 5.3% in early Monday trade, led by Adani Total Gas. The broader market [.BO] gained 0.5%.
Discussions began earlier this year and have picked up in recent weeks, with a resolution possible within a month if momentum continues, the report said, citing sources familiar with the matter.
An Adani Group representative, spokespeople for the Justice Department and White House declined comment to Bloomberg on the report. They did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters outside regular U.S. business hours.
In November, U.S. authorities indicted Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, alleging that they paid bribes to secure Indian power supply contracts, and misled U.S. investors during fund raises there.
The SEC summoned Gautam and Sagar, alleging they paid bribes to Indian officials and misled investors on compliance during a $750 million Adani Green bond sale.
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.
Adani Group, the Justice Department and White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Late last month, Adani Green said its review of the U.S. indictment found no non-compliance or irregularities.
The indictment has erased about $13 billion in market value from Adani Group’s nine listed firms.
(Reporting by Bipasha Dey and Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
