Sources in the know said the executive order would provide relief to Azure Power — which had a contract (a build, operate and transfer deal) with an Adani Group firm for a solar project — and, by extension, the Adani Group. The source said since proceedings under the matter will pause until President Trump comes up with new laws, it will provide some relief to the Adanis.

While Azure Power and the Adani Group did not comment on the latest development, the share price of Adani Enterprise was up 3 per cent in early trading hours on Tuesday and closed the day with a gain of 1.37 per cent even as the benchmark Sensex was down 1.3 per cent.

The order instructs US Attorney General Pam Bondi to pause prosecutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977 until she issues revised enforcement guidance that promotes American competitiveness. Future FCPA investigations and enforcement actions will be governed by this new guidance and must be approved by the Attorney General, the order states.

The White House claims that the FCPA puts US firms at a disadvantage to foreign competitors as they cannot engage in practices common among international competitors, creating an uneven playing field.

A White House factsheet said American national security depends on America and its companies gaining strategic commercial advantages around the world, and President Trump is stopping excessive, unpredictable FCPA enforcement that makes American companies less competitive.

In 2024, the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission filed 26 FCPA-related enforcement actions, with at least 31 companies under investigation by year-end.

US prosecutors in New York had charged Adani Group chairman Gautam S Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and six others for allegedly offering Rs 2,029 crore (US $265 million) in bribes to Indian government officials to secure lucrative solar energy supply contracts. The indictment, filed on November 21, 2024, alleged schemes to pay over $250 million in bribes, lie to investors and banks, and obstruct justice.

Besides Gautam Adani, the other six defendants named are Vneet Jaain, Ranjit Gupta, Rupesh Agarwal, Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal and Deepak Malhotra.

“Adani and other defendants also defrauded investors by raising capital on the basis of false statements about bribery and corruption, while still other defendants allegedly attempted to conceal the bribery conspiracy by obstructing the government’s investigation,” a press release quoting James E Dennehy, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) had said.