New Delhi: The US Treasury Department on Monday announced a USD 275 million settlement with Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) over alleged “apparent violations” of American sanctions on Iran. The case relates to imports of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) sourced through a Dubai-based supplier between November 2023 and June 2025.The Dubai-based supplier, who is not identified in the release, is said to have “purported to supply Omani and Iraqi gas” to AEL. However, according to a press release related to the settlement order issued by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), AEL failed to notice “red flags” in these transactions.As a result, says the release, AEL caused US financial institutions to process 32 dollar-denominated payments worth about USD 192 million. The cargoes were imported by AEL into India through Mundra port in Gujarat between November 2023 and June 2025.According to the release, these payments were related to shipments of Iranian origin that violated provisions of the US’ Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR) limiting Iran’s energy trade.“From November 2023 to June 2025, AEL purchased shipments of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) from a Dubai-based trader purporting to supply Omani and Iraqi gas. Red flags should have put AEL on notice that the LPG actually originated from Iran,” the release said.OFAC said AEL did not voluntarily disclose the “apparent” sanctions violations and did not qualify for leniency, calling the case “egregious”. It said the company fell in the highest penalty bracket, which would invite a base civil penalty of USD 384.2 million. However, the final settlement amount was USD 275 million.This, the release indicated, could happen because AEL provided “substantial cooperation” to OFAC, including by conducting a thorough, independent internal investigation on an expedited basis and at substantial cost, responding promptly to OFAC’s requests for information, and providing large volumes of data regarding the “apparent violations”.OFAC also cited as mitigating factors that AEL had not faced any OFAC penalty or violation notice in the previous five years and that its LPG business accounted for less than 1.5% of the group’s consolidated revenue in 2025.The release said AEL suspended LPG imports, engaged US legal counsel and strengthened sanctions compliance procedures, following “public reports in June 2025 of allegations that AEL was engaged in the importation of Iranian-origin LPG”.Terms included in the Settlement Agreement between the OFAC and Adani Enterprises, declared by the US Trade Department on May 18, 2026.‘Red flags’According to OFAC, since the transactions undermined US sanctions policy, the revenues generated through them contributed to supporting Tehran’s nuclear programme and other regional groups.“AEL caused substantial harm to sanctions program objectives by contributing to Iran’s ability to derive revenue from its energy sector – funds that the regime uses to support its illicit nuclear program, fund its terrorist and proxy groups, and oppress its own people,” says the note.The US agency release said that vessels linked to the shipments engaged in practices associated with sanctions evasion, including manipulation of tracking signals, unexplained dark periods at sea and frequent changes in ownership and flag registration. It said that Adani ignored “red flags” about the origin of these cargoes, including unusually discounted prices, suspicious vessel movements, inconsistencies in shipping documents and repeated third-party warnings that the LPG may have originated in Iran.It said that restricting Iran’s energy exports is a “core objective” of US sanctions against the country and that AEL’s directly contravened this purpose and “provided substantial economic benefit” to the Iranian government.Meanwhile on Thursday (May 14), the US Department of Justice was reported by the New York Times as preparing to drop fraud and bribery charges against the billionaire owner of the Adani Group, Gautam Adani. Bloomberg separately reported, citing sources, that US authorities could formally announce the dismissal of the criminal charges. It also said the Securities and Exchange Commission is moving towards resolving a parallel civil fraud case brought against Adani and several associates in November 2024.A day later, May 15, Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani agreed to a proposed USD 18 million penalty to settle the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allegations linked to Adani Green Energy Ltd, of having paid or promised bribes to Indian officials. However, they have neither admitted nor denied the allegations.