The DOJ wanted to abandon the bribery case against Gautam Adani, calling it primarily foreign, hard to prove, and not the agency’s priority
A US judge has dismissed criminal charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani after President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) said it had decided to abandon the fraud and bribery case.
The charges, filed in 2024 by justice officials under then-President Joe Biden, alleged Adani had agreed to bribe Indian officials to secure a solar contract, and then misled US investors by reassuring them about his company’s anti-corruption practices.
Adani Group has denied wrongdoing and Adani never appeared in US court to respond to the charges.
Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter told the Brooklyn-based district judge, Nicholas Garaufis, in May, that the DOJ would not pursue the case as it was primarily foreign, hard to prove, and not consistent with the agency’s priorities.
Adani had promised to invest $10 billion in the US economy and create 15,000 jobs, just before the charges were unsealed. However, his lawyer Robert Giuffra, who is also a personal attorney of President Donald Trump, told justice officials that the investment could not be made while the case was proceeding, Reuters said in May citing a source.
Judge Garaufis said Monday he was satisfied that the investment pledge did not factor into the DOJ’s decision to seek to toss the case, and acknowledged that judges have a limited role in reviewing federal prosecutors’ decisions to drop charges.
But he criticized McCotter for deciding to drop the charges without inputs from the prosecutors or agents who investigated the case.
“I welcome the US court’s decision with humility and deep respect for the judicial process,” Adani posted on X after the case was dismissed. “Throughout this challenging period, our faith in truth, fairness and the rule of law remained unwavering.”
Gautam Adani became Asia’s richest man in June, ahead of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, and SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son.
I welcome the US court’s decision with humility and deep respect for the judicial process.
Throughout this challenging period, our faith in truth, fairness and the rule of law remained unwavering.
My deepest gratitude to those who never lost faith in us, in the system and in…
He hails from Gujarat, the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the two have a close association. Adani’s infrastructure and ports businesses grew during Modi’s tenure as the chief minister of the state.
Adani Group, which is based in the western city of Ahmedabad, now has a footprint in energy, transport, infrastructure, defense, and minerals and mining.
Earlier this year Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, agreed to pay $18 million in fines to settle a civil case brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
