Brooklyn-based U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis granted the request to toss the case after inquiring into the reasons for the dismissal and whether any agreements were made in exchange for dropping the charges.
Details of the Criminal Allegations
Adani was indicted in 2024 on allegations that he agreed to bribe officials within the Indian government. These bribes were allegedly intended to help a subsidiary of the mint secure approval for a major solar energy plant. The case involved another company and Adani Green Energy Ltd. in a plan to sell as much as 12 gigawatts of solar power to the Indian government.
Furthermore, U.S. prosecutors accused Adani and other defendants of misleading American investors by providing reassuring information regarding the company’s anti-corruption practices. Adani Group consistently rejected these allegations as baseless and denied any wrongdoing. Adani himself never appeared in a U.S. court to respond to the charges.
Justice Department Rationale and Judicial Scrutiny
The Justice Department announced on May 18 that it would no longer pursue the prosecution. In a July 4 court filing, senior Justice Department official Trent McCotter stated that the case was primarily foreign, difficult to prove, and inconsistent with the agency’s current priorities. Prosecutors noted in the filing that they decided, via prosecutorial discretion, not to devote further resources to the criminal charges against individual defendants.
Judge Garaufis initially described the Justice Department’s announcement as bland and conclusory
, stating it did not provide sufficient information. He specifically questioned whether a November 2024 promise by Adani to invest $10 billion in the United States influenced the decision. Trent McCotter denied media stories suggesting the investment pledge played a role in the dismissal.
In a sworn declaration filed July 15, Adani stated he was not aware of any agreement exchanging anything for the dismissal of the indictment. While he acknowledged the $10 billion investment promise, he noted his lawyers had told the Justice Department that the pledge could be part of a resolution of these matters. Robert Giuffra, a lawyer for Adani, stated in a July 15 filing that the Justice Department told him it would not consider the group’s willingness to invest in the U.S. as part of any resolution.
Judicial Criticism and Case Outcome
While Judge Garaufis dismissed the charges, he expressed concern over the process. He criticized Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter for collaborating with defense lawyers to dismiss the charges without input from the agents or prosecutors who investigated the case. Garaufis wrote that the irregularities in the decision to dismiss the indictment are concerning and suggested McCotter replaced the professional opinions of various federal officials with his singular judgment
.
The judge clarified that the dismissal should not be viewed as an opinion on the merits of the case or as agreement with the Justice Department’s decision. He also requested more information to determine if charges against additional defendants should be dismissed. In a statement on X, Adani said that he welcomes the U.S. Court’s decision with humility and deep respect for the judicial process.
Related Civil and Regulatory Settlements
Separate from the dismissed criminal charges, several financial settlements have been reached:
- SEC Civil Charges: Gautam Adani agreed to pay $6 million, and his nephew, Sagar Adani, agreed to pay $12 million.
- Treasury Department: Adani Enterprises Limited agreed to pay $275 million to settle alleged violations of Iran sanctions.
This dismissal is the latest instance of federal prosecutors seeking to drop a high-profile white-collar criminal prosecution during the second term of Republican President Donald Trump.
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