Gautam Adani, an Indian industrialist, has been called many things: a tycoon(大亨，巨头), a fraudster(骗子，欺诈者), a Bollygarch(宝莱坞寡头（生造词）) and worse. His close relationship with Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, has left him dogged by claims of cronyism(裙带关系，任人唯亲). Admirers and critics might agree on one label, however: master escapologist(逃脱大师). In 1998 Mr Adani survived an alleged kidnapping attempt. A decade later he escaped a terrorist attack in Mumbai when gunmen stormed a luxury hotel he was visiting for a dinner. His latest Houdini-like feat has been to quietly settle a trio of legal cases brought by America’s government that have cast a shadow over(给……蒙上阴影) his conglomerate.
印度实业家高塔姆·阿达尼曾被冠以诸多称谓：大亨、骗子、宝莱坞寡头，甚至更糟。他与印度总理纳伦德拉·莫迪的密切关系，使他一再被指搞裙带资本主义。然而，崇拜者和批评者或许会在一个标签上达成共识：逃脱大师。1998年，阿达尼据称在一次绑架未遂中幸存。十年后，他躲过孟买的一场恐怖袭击，当时枪手冲入他参加晚宴的一家豪华酒店。他最新令人惊呼如胡迪尼的壮举，是悄然了结美国政府对其实体提起的三起法律案件——这些案件曾给他的企业集团蒙上阴影。
In November 2024 federal prosecutors in New York alleged(据称的，涉嫌的) that Mr Adani and seven others, including his nephew, had paid more than $250m in bribe(贿赂)s for a $2bn solar-power deal in India. A parallel(平行的，同时的) civil case was brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). On May 18th the Department of Justice (DoJ) dropped its charges, a few days after the SEC settled for a mere $18m (with no admission of guilt). Mr Adani’s lawyers had argued that there was no evidence to support the two cases, that there were no victims and that the prosecution lacked legal authority because the supposed events took place in India. A third case involving alleged purchases of Iranian gas subject to sanctions, brought by America’s Treasury, was settled for the more sizeable(相当大的) sum of $275m on the same day as the DoJ settlement.
2024年11月，纽约联邦检察官指控阿达尼及包括其侄子在内的七人，为在印度达成一项20亿美元的太阳能交易支付了超过2.5亿美元的贿赂。美国证券交易委员会（SEC）也提起了一起平行的民事诉讼。5月18日，司法部（DoJ）撤销了指控，而SEC在几天前仅以1800万美元和解（不承认有罪）。阿达尼的律师辩称，这两起案件没有证据支持，没有受害者，而且因所谓事件发生在印度，检方缺乏法律管辖权。第三起案件涉及涉嫌购买受制裁的伊朗天然气，由美国财政部提起，与司法部和解同日以更大金额2.75亿美元和解。
It is possible that American prosecutors decided they could not win in court. But Mr Adani may also have benefited from the transactional(交易性的，基于交易的) approach to corporate justice taken by the Trump administration. According to the New York Times, Mr Adani’s legal team, headed by Robert Giuffra, a lawyer who has also represented Mr Trump, recently reiterate(重申，反复说)d a previous offer the tycoon had made to the president to invest $10bn in America.
有可能美国检察官断定他们在法庭上无法获胜。但阿达尼也可能受益于特朗普政府对企业司法的交易性处理方式。据《纽约时报》报道，由曾代表特朗普的律师罗伯特·朱弗拉领导的阿达尼法律团队，最近重申了这位大亨此前向总统提出的在美国投资100亿美元的提议。
