NEW YORK, May 18: The US Department of Justice has permanently dropped all criminal charges against Indian tycoon Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar, bringing high-profile securities and wire fraud case in New York to a complete close after prosecutors concluded they could not sustain the allegations.

With this, multiple US regulatory and legal investigations involving the group have all closed in the last couple of days.

Last week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission settled civil allegations against the two men tied to disclosures made to investors in connection with solar energy projects in India. Court filings showed Gautam Adani agreed to pay USD 6 million and Sagar Adani USD 12 million, without admitting or denying wrongdoing.

Thereafter, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) settled allegations of the Adani Group violating US sanctions on Iran in LPG imports. This followed the Indian conglomerate agreeing to pay USD 275 million while extending "extensive cooperation" with the investigation and making "proactive" disclosures.

Now, the US prosecutors at the Eastern District of New York dropped all charges against Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani.

In a filing before the court, the US Department of Justice requested for dismissal of the indictment against the Adanis with prejudice.

"The Department of Justice has reviewed this case and has decided, in its prosecutorial discretion, not to devote further resources to these criminal charges against individual defendants," it said.

Thereafter, the court ordered that the indictment against Adani and others "be dismissed with prejudice".

The closure marks a dramatic turn in a case that had threatened to disrupt the Adani Group's global expansion plans. The SEC and DOJ cases, filed in late 2024, alleged the Adanis orchestrated a USD 265 million bribery scheme involving Indian officials to secure solar power contracts and concealed the arrangement from US investors and lenders while raising capital.

The dismissal was "with prejudice", preventing the case from being reopened.

Such dismissals are uncommon in US criminal proceedings and typically reflect a determination that pursuing the case is no longer warranted after extensive review.

EU Firms Generate 186 Billion Euros In India, Support 6 Million Jobs: Report

NEW DELHI, May 8: European companies have dramatically expanded their footprint in India over the past decade, with close to 6,000 EU firms generating 186 billion euros in turnover in 2024 alone, equivalent to roughly 5 per cent of India's gross domestic product (GDP), according to a landmark report released on Wednesday by the European Union's delegation in India.

The report, titled The Economic Footprint of EU Businesses in India, offers the most comprehensive account to date of Europe's commercial presence on the subcontinent, tracking growth from 2014 to 2024. Its findings underscore a fundamental shift in the EU-India relationship: European companies are no longer merely trading partners but have become structural pillars of India's economy.

EU companies collectively support close to 6 million jobs in India, 3.7 million through direct employment and roughly 2 million more across supply chains and related services. In a single year, 2024, these firms contributed approximately 7 billion euros in taxes to Indian public revenues and spent 271 million euros on corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Over the full 10-year period covered by the report, EU companies poured 218 billion euros in cumulative investments into India, cementing Europe as the country's leading foreign investor. On the trade side, EU firms generated 23.5 billion euros in exports from India in 2024, accounting for around 6 per cent of the country's total export earnings.

While manufacturing remains the dominant sector, accounting for 40 per cent of EU business activity in India, the report points to a broadening sectoral base. Professional services account for 16.6 per cent, information and communication technology for 12 per cent, administrative support for 9.4 per cent, and trade for 6.2 per cent, a spread that reflects the maturation and diversification of European investment in the country.

Geographically, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Haryana together host approximately 85 per cent of all EU firms. Karnataka has emerged as the go-to destination for ICT and services, while Tamil Nadu and Gujarat are rapidly developing as manufacturing powerhouses.

Delhi, meanwhile, has consolidated its position as the nerve centre for professional and administrative functions. The report singles out Gujarat and Telangana as the fastest-growing destinations for fresh European investment.

The report's release comes at a moment of heightened diplomatic and economic engagement between Brussels and New Delhi. Bilateral trade is approaching 200 billion euros, with an investment stock of 140 billion euros, figures that have helped cement the EU's status as India's top trading partner. The two sides adopted a Joint Comprehensive Strategic Agenda at the 16th EU-India Summit in January 2026, signalling a shared intent to deepen ties across trade, technology, and sustainable development.

EU Ambassador to India Herve Delphin said the relationship goes well beyond commerce. "EU businesses' presence in India goes far beyond the balance sheet; it's about creating jobs at scale and driving real innovation and collaboration," he said, adding that both sides are actively co-developing the next generation of startups, trusted supply chains, and innovation hubs.

Negotiations on investment protection and geographical indications agreements are ongoing, and both sides are working to build so-called Blue Valleys - joint investment and co-development zones - as part of a broader effort to institutionalize the partnership.

The report concludes by identifying manufacturing, digital technologies and services as the sectors with the greatest potential for expanded cooperation. With a recently concluded free trade agreement in place and a dense web of over 50 bilateral sectoral dialogues active, the EU-India economic relationship appears set for yet another decade of growth.

Global Crackdown Arrests 276, Shuts 9 Crypto Scam Centers, Seizes $701M

NEW YORK, May 4: A coordinated international operation involving U.S. and Chinese authorities has arrested at least 276 suspects and shut down nine scam centers used for cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes targeting Americans, resulting in millions of dollars in losses.

The crackdown was led by the Dubai Police, under the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Interior, in partnership with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Chinese Ministry of Public Security. Among those arrested are individuals from Burma and Indonesia, who were apprehended by authorities from Dubai and Thailand.

Thet Min Nyi, 27, Wiliang Awang, 23, Andreas Chandra, 29, Lisa Mariam, 29, and two fugitive co-conspirators have been charged with federal fraud and money laundering charges in the U.S.

"Fraudsters who target Americans from overseas cannot operate with impunity, no matter where in the world they reside," Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's (DoJ) Criminal Division said. "Scam center organizers and fraudsters who defraud Americans and others will face justice in American courts and in courts around the world. In contemporary society, fraud is borderless, and law enforcement activity to combat it and eliminate it is as well."

According to the indictment, the defendants are alleged to have managed, worked for, and recruited others to work at three different companies named Ko Thet Company, Sanduo Group, and Giant Company that allegedly operated several scam centers. Thet Min Nyi is believed to be the manager and recruiter for the Ko Thet Company.

The scams involved tricking users into parting with their money through bogus cryptocurrency investments after building trust over time, often by entering into friendly or romantic relationships, a long-running scheme known as pig butchering or romance baiting. The illicit operation is closely intertwined with human trafficking, where foreign nationals are coerced into running the scams under slave-like conditions after being recruited with false offers of high-paying jobs.

"After that, the scammers promoted investments in cryptocurrencies and assisted victims in setting up accounts and transferring cryptocurrency to investment platforms that, unbeknownst to the victims, were false," the DoJ said. "The alleged scammers touted their own successes and returns in cryptocurrency investments and encouraged their victims to invest more. They also encouraged their victims to borrow money from friends and family and take out loans, to be able to 'invest' more."

But as soon as the funds were transferred to the platforms, the assets were laundered to other cryptocurrency accounts, including some belonging to the fraudsters.

The DoJ said the FBI has notified almost 9,000 victims and saved victims an estimated $562 million as of April 2026 following the launch of an initiative called Operation Level Up, which began in January 2024 as a way to proactively identify and alert victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes.

News of the indictment comes days after the DoJ charged two Chinese nationals – Jiang Wen Jie (aka Jiang Nan) and Huang Xingshan (aka Ah Zhe and Huang Xing Saan) – for their role in a major cryptocurrency investment fraud operation and for allegedly running the Shunda scam compound in Min Let Pan, Myanmar. The defendants have also been accused of planning to open a second scam center in Cambodia after Burmese authorities seized the first in November 2025.

Huang is assessed to have worked at Shunda as a high-level manager and personally participated in the physical punishment of trafficked compound workers, while Jiang served as a team leader overseeing workers who specifically targeted American victims in these schemes. They were arrested by Thai authorities in early 2026 while en route to Burma from Cambodia.

"The compound used scam websites and mobile applications disguised as legitimate investment platforms to defraud victims, including Americans," the DoJ said. "Workers within the compound were trafficked individuals who were held against their will and forced to defraud victims under the threat of violence and torture."

In addition, the crackdown has led to the seizure of a Telegram channel (@pogojobhiring2023) with more than 6,500 followers used to recruit human trafficking victims to a scam compound in Cambodia in order to work a law enforcement impersonation scam and a cluster of 503 fake investment websites used to defraud U.S. victims. The actions, led by a U.S. government Scam Center Strike Force, have also restrained more than $701 million in cryptocurrency alleged to be tied to money laundering from cryptocurrency scams.

Coinciding with these efforts, the U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned a Cambodian senator behind a network of cyber scam compounds, and the State Department announced rewards of up to $10 million for information leading to the seizure or recovery of proceeds related to the Tai Chang scam center in Burma.

The sanctions target Cambodian Senator Kok An, Cambodian businessman Rithy Raksmei, their associates, and respective business operations, including holding companies like K99 Group for scam center operations. Kok An is assumed to have fled Thailand, with authorities issuing an arrest warrant for him and his children last July.

"Kok An and his affiliates' network of scam centers, operating out of casinos and office parks retrofitted for fraudulent activity, launder victims' funds and provide a base to target U.S. citizens and commit human rights abuses with impunity," the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said.

Kok An is the second Cambodian senator to be sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury after Ly Yong Phat, who was implicated in September 2024 for his alleged role in trafficking people into forced labor at online scam centers.

The proliferating industrial-scale fraud operations have prompted Cambodia's parliament to pass the first law dedicated to targeting scam centres operating in the country. The law, which seeks to prevent scam centers from resurfacing after takedowns, will see those convicted of scams sentenced to anywhere between five and 10 years in prison and fined as much as $250,000.

What's more, an Android banking trojan has been uncovered, likely operating from multiple locations, including the K99 Triumph City compound owned by Cambodia's K99 Group, that's capable of facilitating real-time surveillance, credential theft, data exfiltration, as well as financial fraud. The banking trojan is said to have been used since at least 2023.

The sophisticated malware-as-a-service (MaaS) platform shares infrastructure and behavioral overlaps with activity previously attributed to threat actors tracked as Vigorish Viper and Vault Viper, per a joint report from Infoblox and Vietnamese non-profit Chong Lua Dao.

"The operation remains active, registering around 35 new domains per month – both registered domain generation algorithm (RDGA) domains and lookalike domains – that impersonate legitimate organizations and government services to distribute the malware," researchers said.

"The domains are designed to spoof banks, pension funds, social security organizations, utility providers, and various revenue, immigration, telecom, and law enforcement agencies. More recently, the scope of the scam has expanded, both geographically and contextually, to include lures targeting airlines and e-commerce platforms, as well as countries in Africa and Latin America."

In all, 400 targeted lure domains are said to have been registered in 2025 and used to deceive and infect victims as part of what's assessed to be a coordinated operation. The attack chain is as follows -

Malicious URLs are distributed to users through SMS messages or emails that appear to come from government officials.

Victims visit a fake Google Play Store app listing page or a government service website.

Once the APK is installed and launched, it escalates permissions to facilitate persistence.

The malware connects to an external server and enables the operator to remotely keep tabs on the victim device and harvest data.

Attackers inject bogus overlay screens on top of online banking apps to capture credentials and then use the access to transfer funds to accounts under their control.

"The activity associated with this infrastructure continues to adapt and expand, sustaining large-scale campaigns targeting countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, while increasingly diversifying into Africa and Latin America," Infoblox and Chong Lua Dao noted.

GST revenue hits all-time high of Rs 2.43 lakh crore in April

NEW DELHI, May 1: The government’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue in April 2026 surged to an all-time high of Rs 2.43 lakh crore, up 8.7% over April last year. Notably, growth was once again driven by collections on imports, with revenue from domestic sales growing slower.

Tax experts, however, note that collections in April, which represent activity in March, typically come in higher as both industry and the tax administration make a final push to achieve the financial year-end targets.

Data shows that every April since the rollout of GST in 2017 has seen a record-high collection figure, except for April 2020, which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.

“April 2026 GST collections cap off a resilient FY26 for the GST regime, with gross revenues rising 8.7% year‑on‑year to about ₹2.43 lakh crore compared to April 2025, despite continued global uncertainty and West Asia‑related geopolitical headwinds,” Mahesh Jaising, Partner & Indirect Tax Leader at Deloitte India said.

The data shows that net collections, once refunds are accounted for, stood at Rs 2.11 lakh crore in April 2026, up 7.3% over April 2025.

Notably, the data also shows that the growth in collections was once again driven by imports rather than domestic sales. That is, gross collections from imports grew nearly 26% in April 2026 to Rs 57,580 crore. On the other hand, collections from domestic sales grew a relatively slower 4.3% to Rs 1.85 lakh crore in the same period.