US judge dismisses criminal case against Indian billionaire Adani

A US judge on Monday dismissed criminal charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, after the Justice Department said it had decided to abandon the fraud and bribery case.

Brooklyn-based US District Judge Nicholas ‌Garaufis’ decision to grant federal prosecutors’ rare bid to toss the case came after he inquired into their reasons for doing so, including by asking Adani whether anything was promised in exchange for the dropping of the case.

In November 2024, before the charges were unsealed, Adani had promised to invest US$10 billion in the United States.

Adani was charged in 2024 with agreeing to bribe Indian government officials so a subsidiary of his Adani Group could win approval to develop ⁠a solar energy plant, then misleading US investors by providing reassuring information about his company’s anti-corruption practices.

Adani Group has consistently denied wrongdoing. ‌Adani himself has not appeared in court in the US to respond to the charges.

On May 18, the Justice Department announced it would no longer pursue the case. That marked the latest instance in which federal ‌prosecutors had sought to drop a high-profile white-collar criminal prosecution during Republican President Donald Trump’s second term in ⁠the White House.

Legal experts ⁠say US judges have little discretion to compel prosecutors to continue with criminal cases they no longer wish to pursue but the charges cannot be formally dismissed ‌without a judge’s approval.