Indian billionaire Gautam Adani./SCREENGRAB
A US federal judge has dismissed the criminal bribery case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani while sharply criticising the Justice Department’s handling of the decision to abandon the prosecution.
Adani and seven other senior business executives were indicted in New York in November 2024 over allegations of bribery, fraud and obstruction of justice.
US prosecutors had accused the defendants of paying more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts. They were also accused of misleading US investors and financial institutions to raise billions of dollars.
Adani, one of India’s most prominent businessmen, welcomed the dismissal, saying he accepted the decision with “humility and deep respect for the judicial process”.
He also said his faith in “the rule of law remained unwavering.”
In a 47-page ruling, US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis raised concerns over the circumstances surrounding the Justice Department’s decision to abandon the case.
Garaufis criticised Trent McCotter, the principal associate deputy Attorney General, accusing him of disregarding the views of officials from several federal agencies and relying instead on his own judgment.
The judge described as “highly unusual” the decision by McCotter to seek dismissal of the indictment after working largely with Adani’s defence lawyers and apparently without input from agencies that had investigated the allegations.
McCotter filed the request on May 18, saying the Justice Department had reviewed the case and decided against committing additional resources to the criminal charges.
Adani’s lawyer, Robert Giuffra, who is also President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, and his team at Sullivan & Cromwell had provided McCotter with a 600-page document outlining the case.
Giuffra had reportedly argued during a meeting at the Justice Department headquarters in Washington that prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to continue pursuing the allegations against Adani.
Reports had also indicated that Adani offered to invest $10 billion in the US economy and create 15,000 jobs as part of efforts to resolve the case. However, the court documents indicated that the proposal did not form part of the Justice Department’s decision to drop the prosecution.
The dismissal comes after Adani faced separate legal action in the US.
Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission settled a civil bribery case involving Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani. The two agreed to pay a combined $18 million in fines.
With the criminal case now dismissed, Adani’s legal challenges in the US have eased significantly.
His fortunes have also risen. Forbes reported in June that Adani’s wealth increased by $2 billion, pushing him past Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son to become Asia’s richest person.
