Gautam Adani, the Indian billionaire whose conglomerate has been under the shadow of a long-running legal saga, moved closer to total exoneration this week as the U.S. Justice Department sought to drop criminal charges against him. In a Manhattan courtroom, federal prosecutors filed to dismiss the case following a $275 million settlement with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. The settlement relates to allegations that Adani’s company violated Iran sanctions by purchasing liquefied petroleum gas.

The $275 million check, while substantial to a common citizen, represents a small fraction of the billionaire’s vast wealth. Per Bloomberg Law, the Securities and Exchange Commission also moved to settle a civil fraud case against Adani. The scene of a wealthy elite resolving criminal allegations with a civil payment has stirred resentment among those who feel the law is applied differently to the powerful.

The physical reality of the case involves the movement of energy through a global system that often ignores moral boundaries for the sake of profit. While the DOJ seeks to drop the charges, the message sent to the public is one of impunity. For the middle-class families who must follow every regulation and tax law, the sight of a billionaire purchasing a resolution to criminal fraud charges is a bitter pill. The Adani case stands as a stark reminder that in the era of global corporate capital, justice is increasingly a commodity for sale to the highest bidder.