U.S. Judge Ends Adani Case but Rebukes Justice Department

A dismissal paired with a judicial rebuke

A federal judge in Brooklyn dismissed the criminal fraud and bribery case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and several co-defendants on Monday, granting the Justice Department’s request to abandon the prosecution.reuters +1 U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis nevertheless sharply criticized the department’s explanation and the conduct of a senior official involved in the decision.politico The order closes the criminal case that had shadowed one of India’s largest business groups since 2024.amp +1

The dismissal is a major legal victory for Adani, who welcomed the decision with “humility and deep respect for the judicial process.” Adani Group has consistently denied wrongdoing, and Adani never appeared in a U.S. court to answer the charges.politico +1

The original allegations centered on solar contracts

Federal prosecutors had accused Adani and associates of arranging more than $250 million in bribes to Indian officials to secure lucrative solar-energy supply contracts. The indictment alleged that the defendants then concealed the scheme while raising money from U.S. investors and global financial institutions through false or misleading statements.reuters +1

The Justice Department announced in May that it no longer intended to pursue the case. Officials later argued that the matter was primarily foreign, difficult to prove and misaligned with the department’s current enforcement priorities.cbsnews Judges generally have little power to force prosecutors to continue a case, but court approval was still required before the indictment could be formally dismissed.amp

Questions over the government’s reversal remain

Garaufis said the department official’s collaboration with defense lawyers, apparently without meaningful input from investigators and prosecutors who built the case, was “highly unusual.” He also rejected the official’s unsupported suggestion that the indictment had been timed for political effect near the end of the Biden administration, calling that assertion unbecoming of the office.politico

The judge had pressed both sides over whether Adani’s previously announced plan to invest $10 billion in the United States influenced the reversal. Adani said in a sworn declaration that he knew of no agreement trading anything for dismissal, while his lawyer said the department had refused to consider the investment pledge as part of a resolution.amp +1

The ruling removes the immediate risk of a U.S. criminal trial, but it does not erase scrutiny of how the prosecution ended. Garaufis’s written criticism leaves a public record of institutional concern even as the defendants walk away from the indictment.reuters +1